Don’t waste 2005 cattle subsidy bonus
They will have a massive €550 million extra to spend next year, because all the usual subsidy payments will come together in the form of the Single Farm Payment towards the end of 2005, and there will also be late payments of the “animal based” payments, as they are being phased out.
At this week’s Situation and Outlook in Agriculture Conference in Dublin, Liam Dunne of Teagasc’s Rural Economy Research Centre advised farmers regarding to avoid inflating cattle prices by spending the money on stores in the autumn, or on imprudent capital investments which would increase their farming costs, and which are unlikely to be sustained by cattle margins in the future.
He forecast beef and cattle prices remaining stable in 2005, despite the strong euro and the reintroduction of” over 30 month beef” on the UK market. Calf and concentrate feed costs are likely to be lower, he said.
