Farmers face tillage policy decision

Tillage farmers are facing crucial decisions on the amount of land they should crop under the new tillage policy.

Jim O’Mahony, Teagasc chief tillage adviser, told a gathering of over 700 tillage farmers in Carlow that under the new EU policy, which comes into operation in January 2005, tillage farmers need use only 50% of the area farmed in the 2000-2002 period and still receive their full single payment.

This applies to land rented annually or leased over a number of years.