“There are many other technological advancements which are underway and we need to embrace these.” On land use, the IFA President said he was concerned about


some aspects of the proposals around Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF). “There needs to be much more engagement with farmers on these issues. Any measures in this area must be entirely voluntary,” he said. “It must be remembered that farmers are citizens too, and they


and their families will have to adapt to the changes in the transport and energy sector,” he said.


FORWARD GRAIN PRICES HAVE ENTERED VERY DANGEROUS TERRITORY Irish Grain Growers (IGG) chairman Bobby Miller is deeply concerned about the direction of travel forward grain prices are now taking. He explained: “Prices quoted for harvest 2023 are now hovering at


around €220/t. That’s €70 below the price available two months ago. “I am very conscious of the projected 2022/23 breakeven price for Irish grain, published by Teagasc a couple of days ago. “This is coming in at just short of €210/t. If world grain futures


continue to slide, we could soon see Irish grain growers facing into big losses next year, irrespective of the final yields they eventually achieve.” IGG is also highlighting the fact that Ireland’s tillage sector will be


negatively impacted by the out-working of the new national Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) plan. “As a body, we had been emphasising this possibility for the past


couple of years. Official analysis of the new CAP arrangements has confirmed this reality. So government must now step in and rectify these matters.” IGG has a priority listing of actions that government can take to


support tillage farmers. Chief among these is the introduction of additional schemes that specifically underpin the growing of crops in Ireland. “The protein aid and straw incorporation measures have worked,” said Miller. “But they need to be retained and their footprint widened.” He added: “We also need to see Bord Bia stepping in and specifically


promoting Irish grain. The organisation does not have this remit at the present time. “In fact there is no body in place to specifically promote and


market Irish grain, whether at home or abroad. This situation must be changed.” The IGG chair confirmed the growing demand for Irish grown grain.


“In theory, this should be a good news story. But making this happen will require a greater level of investment in food grade processing facilities,” he further explained. “Companies already in existence need to commit accordingly. But there is also significant potential for new businesses to get involved as well.” Miller went on to highlight the significance of the public consultation


process now underway, relating to the introduction of Ireland’s new Sustainable Use Regulation. “He said: “This issue is of fundamental importance to every tillage


PAGE 22 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 FEED COMPOUNDER


farmer in Ireland. So, I would heartily encourage everyone with an interest in crop production to take part in the public consultation.”


In my Opinion … Richard Halleron IRELAND’S TILLAGE SECTOR WILL NEED A SPRING PICK-ME-UP I have listened to a lot of polite conversations involving Teagasc tillage advisors and crop consultants regarding the state of newly established winter crops. There’s been lots of talk about the damage caused by slugs, leather


jackets and standing water in fields. But it’s time to call a spade a spade: many crops sown out since the beginning of October have ‘disaster’ written all over them. Yes, cereal crops planted in September went into tremendous


seed beds. But who knows yet how Barley yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) has ravaged them? What a difference two months can make. This year’s National


Ploughing Match saw representatives from every farming organisation on the planet extolling the virtues of tillage farming and the future prospects of the sector. And, in principle, they were all right. Meanwhile, the vagaries of the Irish climate have come home to roost. I know that many cereal growers are looking at rain sodden fields


right now and thinking it’s time to start from scratch again come the spring. But there is one big drawback with this approach: the money


involved. It has cost growers a fortune to get winter crops through to this point. And the very thought of doing it all again, never mind the mad prices


that fertiliser will probably be making coming March 2023 would give any human being sleepless nights. Everyone agrees that there must be a sustainable future crop


production in Ireland. It’s not growers’ fault that a perfect storm has hit them over the past number of weeks. Cereal prices are very strong at the present time. But so are all


input prices. Every cost increase that tillage farmers have to face puts additional pressure across the sector as a whole. How often in the past have we seen one good harvest only to be followed by two, and possibly three, very challenging growing years? It’s not all lost yet, where the 2022/23 growing year is concerned. The spring planting season beckons. Last year, farm minister Charlie McConalogue introduced the Tillage


Incentive Scheme. But, in truth, the measure only served to encourage grassland farmers into crop production. Come spring 2023, the minister will have to look seriously at


support measures that specifically target the needs of professional tillage farmers. And he has plenty of targets to aim at: spring barley, oats, beans, maize and even fodder beet. Whatever he comes up with must include specific supports for those farmers who want to re-plant the crop failures of this autumn.


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