CAP proposals will reduce Irish tillage sector
“This is a very serious matter for the tillage industry,” he told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, during a recent debate on CAP reform.
Mr Barry is one of the 10 members of the Teagasc Tillage Crops Stakeholder Group which recently presented a development plan for the Irish tillage crops sector to Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney.
They said there is potential to increase crops by 64%, or by an output value of €541m, creating up to 3,000 jobs.
The group said maintaining the current level of single farm payment to tillage farmers is essential.
But Mr Barry warned of the effect of greening proposals and of “map farming”.
He warned that tillage farmers will lose out vis-à-vis stock farmers, and land will become harder and harder to acquire, because it will be deemed to be permanent pasture, qualifying for greening payments.
“Let us say, for example, that a 50-acre farm comes up for rental next door to a tillage farmer. If that farm is in permanent pasture, the tillage farmer cannot rent it, but a dairy or beef farmer can. If a farm comes up for rent that is in stubble or tillage, and is put into grass for long-term lease, it becomes permanent pasture and moves out of the realm of the tillage farmer.
“A compromise could be reached whereby certain lands that are deemed to be permanent pasture could be taken out of that classification but returned after a certain period of time for rotation. There would be natural benefits for grassland under such a system because it would reduce compaction, which is an enormous problem in grassland farming. It would also help with wireworm and other pests, which could be removed from the soil.”
Mr Barry also referred to the rise of “map farming”.
“Now, landowners are being paid up to €220 per acre to farm the land, but they are keeping the maps. We need to find out who is actually farming the land. This is a serious problem because it is crippling progressive farmers. They are losing land because people are afraid that rights on land are going to be set up for many years to come.
“Before we start taking money away from the 55,000 productive farmers, we must make sure we are not giving it to those who are not producing anything.
“In that context we should look at ways to tie proof of farming to payments, and including a penalty for those who are not actively farming would help greatly.
