Scrooge is stalking Irish farms

THE spirit of Christmas is in the air and children and adults alike are looking forward to unwrapping their presents from Santa.

But, for the farmers of Tipperary and the rest of Ireland, the Department of Agriculture, in the guise of Scrooge, is delivering an early and unwanted Christmas and New Year gift: surprise cross-compliance inspections.

And, yes, I really do mean ‘surprise’ — without notice and showing a lack of basic courtesy and respect.

These are taking place at the worst possible time of the year when farmers are in the process of housing their herds, the weather has turned roadways into mucky swamps and, thanks to a lack of clear communication between the Department of Agriculture and Teagasc, slurry tank levels are rising.

Imagine the scenario: ‘Farmer Ryan’ is going about his morning chores when in drives the inspector with a checklist of 1,450 items. The inspector has the ‘right’ to observe Farmer Ryan’s milking routine, view his farm computer programs, check for any signs of dirt on cattle, brand all run-off as slurry, and so on.

Every aspect of his farm and farming techniques will be scrutinised with a fine-tooth comb and may be penalised financially.

And what is at stake in all of this? Farmer Ryan’s single farm payment.

To those outside agriculture, this sounds like nothing more than typical farmer whingeing, the popular belief that farmers are getting ‘free’ money and rolling in the wealth of it all. But put yourself in Farmer Ryan’s wellies for a minute. How many of us work 12 or more hours a day, every day, year round? How many of our jobs require us to be on ‘emergency call’ in the wee hours. And how many of us would do all of this without overtime and holiday pay? The average Irish farmer today is doing all this and earning a salary, after taxes, that is less than that of the unannounced inspector.

A farm income based on ever decreasing milk prices and average beef and lamb prices barely justifies the expenses involved, such as feed, veterinary care, machinery and farm buildings.

Most farmers work part-time off the farm just to make ends meet, but the bottom line is that all our farmers depend on the single farm payment to maintain their livelihoods.

The Department of Agriculture should be protecting and supporting our farmers who work hard to keep our tables laid with the best meat and produce. But, sadly, this has not been the case.

A prime example is the demise of the Irish sugar beet farm industry. The Irish sugar beet farmer was sold out by the Government and we will not see his return. We must protect our remaining farmers before they experience the same fate.

In this season of goodwill, I would hope that Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan takes a moment to remember the old spirit of Christmas in Irish agriculture before she allows this even more dire spirit of the future to occur.

It isn’t too late for Scrooge to turn into Santa.

Cllr Séamus Morris

Raphnaleen Lane

Nenagh

Co Tipperary