Bumper crowd at tillage sector crisis meeting sends 'clear message' to minister
Around a thousand farmers heard that 'Irish grain prices are being undermined by cheap imports of feedstuffs from outside the EU'.
Irish tillage farmers have warned their sector is in crisis and in urgent need of government support.
Around a thousand farmers turned out to a crisis meeting for the sector held at the Killashee Hotel on Friday, September 12. IFA President Francie Gorman said the event sent a "clear message" to minister for agriculture Martin Heydon.
“The crowd of 1,000 farmers packed into the hotel was one of the largest seen for years and underlines the fear there is about the future of tillage farming in Ireland. We had a unified front – IFA, Irish Grain Growers, Tillage Industry Ireland, Tillage Food Vision, and merchants – to drive home the message to the minister,” he said.
The IFA president said minister Heydon acknowledged the challenges in the sector, but he did not commit to funding in next month’s Budget.
“Budget ’26 will be delivered in just over three weeks. Minister Heydon knows himself that this will be seen as a key test of his ability to represent farmers at the Cabinet table. We’re looking for the commitments in the Programme for Government to be honoured.
"If that doesn’t happen, it will leave tillage farming in an even more precarious place. Native, Irish grain prices are being undermined by cheap imports of feedstuffs from outside the EU.
"These imports are subject to much lower production standards and regulations around the use of plant protection products and genetically modified seeds. The playing pitch has never been so unlevel,” added the organisation's grain chair Kieran McEvoy.
Speaking to the at the National Ploughing Championships, Bobby Miller from the Irish Grain Growers Group said tillage farmers visiting the organisation's stand were in poor morale.
"Irish grain prices are €40/t less than 2024, which were low prices in themselves. There is a lot of concern about the land rental market. A lot of tillage farmers depend on rented land, the cost of which is rising for several reasons, including the reduction of the nitrates derogation.
"Fertiliser prices are well up on 2025 going into 2026, so we are looking forward to a year of high production costs as well. We need financial support and policy to give us some form of protection in the feed, food and drinks markets if the government is serious about keeping a tillage sector in Ireland."
