Fair play for calf and weanling producers
Pointing out the issue has reached boiling point, he said he had met with farmers from all over the country at their request.
The rules of fair play must be observed by the minister in allocating the entitlements. No farmer should lose out on income and no farmer should have a windfall at the expense of a fellow farmer.
“In addition, we have to cater for hardship cases. All of this was recognised by the EU Council of Ministers when they approved the EU legislation for the single farm payments. These provide for the setting of a 40 million national reserve in Ireland. All farmers will contribute to this reserve, including calf and weanling producers.
“However, there is an active campaign against calf and weanling producers by certain parts of other organisations who claim to represent these farmers. It is with reluctance that I highlight this fact,” he said.
Mr O’Rourke said the ICMSA has stated many times that calf prices will fall by up to €150 per head and weanling prices will be reduced by at least €200 per head. These figures have been independently and publicly verified by Philip Farrelly, a leading agricultural consultant. The Department can no longer ignore this major problem.
Calling on all farm organisations to actively support fair treatment for calf and weanling producers, he said the scope is there to provide reasonable additional direct payments to these producers from the national reserve.
