Minister urged to use the budget to stabilise national suckler cow herd
That’s the view of Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) president John Bryan, who described the herd as the jewel asset of the country’s e2.3bn beef and livestock sector.
He said the minister must bring forward a strong suckler cow payment as part of the CAP reform agreement and Budget 2014 this October.
Mr Bryan said there is intense economic pressure on the suckler cow herd at farm level as a result of severe income difficulties.
These have resulted from budget cuts on the farm schemes over the last number of years and the fodder crisis last spring.
He said that the budget cuts alone, involving the abolition of the suckler cow welfare scheme, cuts to the Disadvantage area scheme and REPS/ AEOS, has hit suckler farm incomes by over e130 per cow.
The IFA leader said the pressure on cows was confirmed by the most recent ICBF data confirming a 29% increase in beef cows leaving the national herd and a 7% drop in calvings’ to date this year.
On top of this, there is widespread evidence that a very significant percentage of cows have not gone back in calf this spring. In addition, dispersal sales are widespread in marts across the country.
Mr Bryan said that the minister, with a strong commitment from Taoiseach Enda Kenny to protect the suckler herd, must lead the way at the cabinet table when the decisions around the budget are made over the next two months.
He said that IFA analysis of the Government’s own figures shows the disproportionate impact on the sector of successive budgets.
Since 2008, the total agriculture spend has been reduced by 41.2%, compared to a reduction of 12.6% for total spending across all Government departments.
Mr Bryan said the minister must use the budget to begin to reverse past draconian cuts to farm schemes which have impacted severely on low-income farmers.
IFA Livestock Committee chairman Henry Burns said it is now clear that it was a mistake to abolish the suckler cow welfare scheme in last year’s budget.
He said this move, on top of the severe winter and fodder crisis, rocked confidence in suckler farmers and sent a wrong signal at a crucial time to the country’s most important indigenous industry.
Mr Burns said an IFA study of the importance of the cattle and sheep sectors to the Irish economy by Professor Alan Renwick of University College Dublin, shows that the e2.3bn output at farm gate level creates total economic output of e5.7bn.
In addition, the Irish cattle and sheep sectors support 100,000 farmers and over 50,000 jobs in the wider economy.
“One of the key findings in this report is that each e1 of direct support for cattle and sheep farmers underpins over e4 of aggregate output in the economy,” he said.
Mr Burns said that maintaining the 1.1m national suckler cow herd is vital in terms of producing the quality beef which enables the sector to secure the high priced premium retail and food service outlets across Britain and Europe.
A stable and strong suckler herd is paramount to achieving the Food Harvest 2020 targets which would lead to an increase of e1.6bn in output in the Irish economy, with estimates of an additional 5,000-10,000 jobs created, he said.
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