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info@eastcorkjournal.ie


EAST CORK AGRICULTURE info@eastcorkjournal.ie


Speaking from Buenos


Aires, Argentina, where the EU-Mercosur trade discussions are on hold until the New Year with- out agreement, IFA Pres- ident Joe Healy said the serious threat from a bad deal on beef and poultry has not gone away. He said the Taoiseach


Leo Varadkar and EU Ag- riculture


Commissioner


Phil Hogan must intensi- fy the pressure against a Mercosur deal which will seriously damage the EU and Irish beef sector. Following a meeting


with EU Trade Commis- sioner Celia Malmstrom at the talks, Joe Healy said the Commissioner must


be reined in and not al- lowed to sacrifice beef to secure an overall deal. He said farmers fear that the Trade


Commissioner is


willing to give more con- cessions than are neces- sary to the Brazilians. The IFA President said


when the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will


visit Brus-


sels next, he must make it crystal clear to his Europe- an colleagues that Ireland will not agree to a damag- ing Mercosur deal for the beef sector. “Beef is more impor-


tant to Ireland than any other member state. The Taoiseach and Commis- sioner Hogan cannot agree to a Mercosur deal


CSO Income Estimate Has To Be Wake-Up Call For Next Cap Budget


IFA President Joe Healy has said that CSO estimate for farm income in 2017 points to mixed fortunes with a significant improve- ment for dairy farmers and very real income pressures in other sectors. Joe Healy said the gains


in other sectors were neg- ligible, particularly in drys- tock and tillage, where incomes are still unsustain- ably low. The IFA President said the importance of direct payments for the drystock and tillage


sectors can-


not be overstated. “Their very survival depends on direct


payments. It un-


derlines how crucial an improved EU budget is, in the context of the upcom- ing Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform. The figures further support the IFA case for a substantial


additional payment for


suckler cows.” “While it has been a rel-


atively good year for dair- ying, it came after one of the worst years on record in 2016. Price volatility re- mains a huge threat in the context of the significant investment undertaken by dairy farmers.” Concluding, Joe Healy said, “Irish farmers face increased


demands on


sustainability, on the en- vironment and on climate change. With the dangers presented by Brexit and a potential Mercosur trade deal, they will continue to depend on a strongly-fund- ed CAP in the years ahead. Our Government and EU Commissioner Phil Hogan have a key role to play in securing the economic sus- tainability of all farming sectors in Ireland”.


involving a major increase in substandard beef im- ports from Brazil at


the


same time as we face into the serious challenges of Brexit.” Together with the IFA


National Livestock Chair- man Angus Woods and European Director Liam MacHale, Joe Healy was in Buenos Aires for a week, working on the Mercosur trade talks. The negoti- ations were taking place in parallel with the 11th WTO Ministerial meeting. The IFA President said an EU deal on beef with Brazil in the Mercosur ne- gotiations would be toxic. He called on Commission- er Malmstrom to come


clean and reject the en- vironmental destruction, failures on food safety and animal welfare, and slave labour associated with Brazilian beef. Joe Healy said Irish and


European beef farmers are very angry at the way they are being sacrificed in Mercosur and there is bad blood over the cur- rent offer of an additional 70,000t TRQ offered by the EU. Last year, an EU JRC (Joint Research Centre) report showed how vul- nerable the European beef sector is to trade deals, par- ticularly the suckler sectors in France, Spain and Ire- land. The analysis showed


that increased imports


from Mercosur would hit EU beef prices by up to 16%, costing


€5bn the impact In an-


nually. Due to our export dependence,


on Ireland would be great- er, potentially costing be- tween €500m-€750m.


addition, Brexit has placed a major doubt over the UK market


for 260,000t


of Irish beef. With Brexit, the EU


beef market would be 116% self-sufficient. To negotiate


a trade deal


with Mercosur at this time would be reckless and makes no sense whatso- ever. Joe Healy said Irish and European farmers are re-


Why Active Management Of Your Forest Is So Important – IFA


Chairman,


IFA Farm Forestry Pat


lins said forests that are


actively the Col-


and thinned regularly encourage est


trees to thrive, are


healthier, capture more carbon and generate more income for own- ers.


Mr Collins said there


are a lot of farmers who are not managing their forests and this could significantly reduce the value of the final crop. He encouraged farmers to make the effort to cut brash paths to access their forest, to apply for the grant to build a forest road and to hire a professional forester to assist


them to manage


managed strong-


the forest. He reassured farmers


tensive


that making the effort to actively manage forests will generate addition- al income, “By actively managing a forest, an owner will generate in- come from the sale of timber during the rota- tion but, more impor- tantly, will increase the value of the final crop, by focussing production on the better quality and more vigorous trees.” As a result of the in- afforestation


programme undertaken by farmers in the 80’s and 90’s the volume of timber forecast


to be


harvested in the private sector is expected to in- crease significantly. In


Tel: 021 463 8000 • Email: info@eastcorkjournal.ie • Web: www.eastcorkjournal.ie


2016 COFORD esti- mated that


the round-


wood volume would in- crease from 3.95 million m3 to 7.86 million m3 in 2035, with the increase in roundwood supply to come almost exclusively from farmers. The mobilisation of forest


the private sec-


tor is one of the biggest challenges facing the sector, Collins warned. He said, “Farmers are first time timber pro- ducers and as a result some have been slow to engage as they are un- familiar with the crop and timber markets. Farmers with a planta- tion 15 years or older should talk with other forest owners and forest-


ers to get to know their forest and start to devel- op a plan that ensures the forest is sustainably managed so their invest- ment is protected”. He said that current


timber markets are strong and with the in- creasing demand for wood fuel it is a good time to be a forest own- er. He continued that forest owners with the right supports were ide- ally placed to take ad- vantage of


the oppor-


tunities offered by the emerging bioenergy and bioeconomy to produce low carbon value add- ed products locally and create sustainable rural communities.


eastcorkjournal


Changes To Deposit Rules For Tams Applicants


IFA Rural Development


Chairman Joe Brady has wel- comed changes to the TAMS scheme, which will allow farmers who have


applied


for TAMS, and who had put down a deposit before formal approval, to claim the depos- it as a legitimate expense in claiming grant aid. Prior to this, farmers were


penalised if they had paid a deposit for work or equip- ment before formal approval to proceed with work “This change is particular-


ly relevant for farmers install- ing milking machines and bulk tanks and purchasing low-emission slurry spread- ing equipment under the scheme.” Joe Brady said IFA has


been in contact with the De- partment about a number of cases over the past six to nine months. It is important that any farmer who suffered a penalty gets the full grant aid paid.


@eastcorkjournal / #eastcorkjournal


Thursday, 21st


December 2017


Deadline Monday at noon


Taoiseach And Commissioner Hogan Must Intensify Pressure Against A Bad Mercosur Deal - IFA


quired to meet the highest food safety and environ- mental standards in the world. “It is a total con- tradiction of European policy that Commissioner Malmstrom is now willing to cut a deal for more beef imports from Brazil and sacrifice sustainable pro- duction in Europe.” He said Irish beef pro- duction is four times more carbon efficient than Bra- zil where growth is driven on the back of destruction


of the rainforests. In


addition, the IFA


President said the Weak Flesh corruption scandal in Brazil in March 2017 proved once again the failure of Brazil to meet European standards. He said the EU Commission FVO report in May 2017 clearly stated “the Brazil- ian Competent Authority is not in a position to guar- antee


that


export met”


the relevant requirements are


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