22


East Cork


info@eastcorkjournal.ie Agriculture Speaking at the launch


of the IFA pre-Budget Submission - Supporting Farmers Through Un- precedented Challenges – IFA President Joe Healy said a strong Budget ’19 that


supports is imperative farmers immediate threats


given the to, &


long-term challenges, for the sector.


treme weather events this year have


Joe Healy said the ex- placed huge


pressure on farm families and farm incomes. In the


medium term, both the exposure to Brexit and the battle


to maintain CAP


funding for Ireland have created the perfect storm.


ernment between now and October 9th


“Our message to Gov- is that the


future growth of the sec- tor is intrinsically linked to support for farm incomes & policies that encourage investment at farm level. This year has taken a toll on farmers and the imple- mentation of our Budget proposals can give them


FODDER IMPORT SCHEME IMPORTANT, BUT LOW-COST LOAN PACKAGE STILL NEEDED URGENTLY - IFA


IFA President Joe


Healy has acknowl- edged the confirmation by the Minister for Ag- riculture Michael Creed of a


fodder import


scheme for €4,25m as another important ele- ment identified in IFA’s Drought Action Plan. Joe Healy said once


the Minister had an- nounced at


the Tul-


lamore Show ten days ago of his intention to bring in a fodder import scheme, farmers want- ed it in place quickly. “Some co-ops and mer- chants have identified available fodder abroad and this allows them to put place.”


their plans in The IFA President


again called on Minis- ter Creed to introduce immediately the


low-


cost loans which were promised in last Octo- ber’s Budget, adding that


these loans must


be available for working capital. Joe Healy also said it was important


that


changes under GLAS are confirmed and clar- ified as a matter of ur- gency. The flexibility to allow conservation of fodder on fallow ground is welcome, but


ur-


gent movement on the Low-Input


Grassland


measure is critical. This will allow farmers to conserve extra fodder.


However Mr Kent said,


“While we are in favour of importing fodder, we must ensure that


it is of high


quality and at a fair price. Vigilance on quality and price


towards imported


feed must also extend to cereals. Profit margins on suckler and sheep farms are practically non-exist- ent at this point so if these


The IFA President said our agri-food sector is most exposed to Brexit, with no positive outcome for agriculture. Average farm income in 2017 was approximately €31,000, falling significantly be- hind industry averages in other sectors. This is not set


to change in 2018,


which has proven to be a particularly challeng- ing year for Irish farming due to extreme weather


a signal that their role is recognised.”


give


Thursday, 30th


August 2018


info@eastcorkjournal.ie Deadline Monday at noon


STRONG BUDGET NEEDED TO HELP FARMERS WEATHER THE PERFECT STORM OF IMMEDIATE THREATS & LONG-TERM CHALLENGES - IFA


events. IFA Farm Business


Chairman Martin Sta- pleton said, “Budget 2019 provides an opportunity for


the Government to direct and positive


support to farming enter- prises. The IFA proposals call on the Government to tackle low farm incomes if we are to achieve Food Wise 2025 ambitious tar- gets of €19bn in exports for the agri-food sector, while also supporting wid- er


economic activity in


€4.25 SUPPORT MEASURE FOR THE IMPORTATION OF FODDER WELCOMED


ICSA president Patrick


Kent has welcomed the announcement by Minis- ter Creed that €4.25 mil- lion has been allocated for the introduction of a Fodder Import Support Measure. “ICSA has been calling for this and oth- er measures to be put in place at


the earliest pos-


sible point as part of the combined effort required to offset major fodder dif- ficulties down the track.”


enterprises are to have


any hope of surviving it is imperative that access to quality feed at a reasona- ble price is secured.”


“On home ground, we


need to take a sensible ap- proach and allow Low-In- put Grassland to be baled, sooner rather than later.”


Concluding Mr Kent


impressed upon millers to deliver the best possible value to farmers at


this


difficult time and reiter- ated that profiteering by meat plants must not be tolerated, “It is incumbent on all players to protect the industry as a whole. We will not stand for pri- mary producers being taken advantage of at this vulnerable time.”


put GDT auctions in con- text.


that over 7.5m tonnes of dairy products will be trad- ed globally in the year end- ing December 2018. The quantities traded through GDT in 2017 were less than 10% of that,” Mr Phelan said.


trends show drought has moderated


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


“Latest European market volumes


from


“I think it is important to The USDA predicts


rural communities.” IFA Rural Develop-


ment


Brady said farm schemes must


Chairman Joe remain a central


part of Government pol- icy, particularly for the low-income drystock sec- tor.


“The Rural Devel-


opment Plan achieves a number of important ob- jectives, including protec- tion for the environment, support for regionally-bal- anced farming, provision of public goods and farm investment.”


The IFA expenditure


and taxation priorities for Budget 2019 are as fol- lows: • Targeted payment of €200 per suckler cow and an additional sheep pay- ment of €5 per ewe. • Increased ANC fund-


ing of €73m to reverse cuts since 2009 and re- store


the real value of


payments. • €250m for agri-envi-


ronmental schemes. • Provision of low cost loans to


support both


ongoing working capital requirements and for on- farm investment. • Funding to meet the commit-


Government


ment to introduce a three- year cap on the inclusion of productive assets under the Fair Deal Scheme.


• Measures to encour-


age the use of renewable energy.


CO-OPS MUST LIFT AUGUST AND YEAR- END BASE MILK PRICES – PHELAN


National Dairy Commit-


tee Chairman Tom Phelan said co-ops had taken fright earlier this summer and been overly conservative in just holding base prices, some making do with tem- porary “support” payments which could readily be whipped out. Kerry’s Ea- monn Scanlon and Glan- bia’s Siobhan Talbot have recently expressed confi- dence in the market place, borne


out by the latest


European quotes, despite yesterday’s negative GDT. This must


lead to higher


milk prices from August supplies.


June and helped the prices of most commodities rally this month.


All co-ops, es-


pecially those whose base prices have been allowed fall behind, must increase their August base price and be ready to increase it fur- ther before year-end as mar- kets allow,” he said.


“The Ornua PPI pub- lished in August trade


for July


but as always lags behind market


was slightly down, trends.


In recent


weeks, most product prices have rallied. The EU Milk Market Observatory most recent report (15th shows high butter easing


August) prices


slightly, but SMP


prices up €80/t ,WMP up €40/t, cheddar cheese by €30/t and whey powder by €20/t. Altogether, these prices would return 37.5c/l gross for an Irish product mix (or 32.5c/l + VAT, as- suming a 5c/l processing cost deduction),” he said.


“Spot prices – the current


price for a product without a forward contract - are also up, with Dutch raw milk ris-


eastcorkjournal “Finally, the newly


launched EEX Liquid (Raw) Milk Futures cur- rently suggests October to December prices of over €36-37/100 kg, rising to €40/100 kg next spring,” he said.


“It is clear that reduced


production from June due to drought in Europe is im- pacting market and dairy prices. must ensure that


sentiment Co-ops farmers


benefit from this, seen as the impact of weather on feeding costs in particular will hit their 2018 margins hard,” he concluded.


@eastcorkjournal / #eastcorkjournal


ing €5.8/100 kgs to €37.8/ kg. Spot quotes for Euro- pean dairy products are also lifting, with 15th


August


quotes up by between 2.6% (butter) and 3.52% (SMP). Returns before processing costs for SMP/butter, based on the average Dutch, Ger- man and French spot quotes on that


38.82c/l gross, or 33.82c/l + VAT after deduction of 5c/l processing costs,” he added.


• Earned Income Tax


Credit must be increased from its 2018 level of €1,150 to €1,650. • Income volatility – ex-


tension of income averag- ing, greater flexibility on ‘step-out’, and provision of a provision of a deposit scheme. • Maintenance of a


number of taxation meas- ures that encourage farm transfer. • Increased allocation


of funding for the Walks Scheme.


As part of IFA’s cam-


paign, IFA Officers will meet TDs & Senators in the coming weeks at lo- cal


level. On Sept 26th ,


IFA will hold its national lobbying day at which our officers will meet Oire- achtas members from all over the country.


date, would be


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