Following the appearance of members of the Organic Farmers Representative Body at the Oireachtas joint committee on agriculture, this column received replies from the department regarding their concerns.

The Organic Farmers Representative Body has expressed concerns over GLAS payment delays, and doubling up in both funding rules and farm inspections of for the organic sector.

Inadequate, late and anti-small farmer organic payments; the function and legitimacy of certification bodies and stocking rate rules which mitigate against hill farmers.