Green Pages Feed Trade Topics from the Island of Ireland


GOVERNMENT MUST HALT DECLINE OF IRELAND’S TILLAGE SECTOR Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Grain Committee Chairman Mark Browne has told Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed that the government must halt the continued decline of the Irish tillage sector. Since 2008, the planted area of the main cereal crops has reduced by 67,500 hectares, representing a drop of over 20 per cent. This stark reality confirms that tillage must be considered as a


vulnerable sector in Irish agriculture. Browne emphasised how the current drought crisis underlines the strategic importance of the arable sector within the broader agricultural industry — and added a reminder that it underpins Ireland’s livestock, dairy, drinks and mushroom export sectors, which have a total value of ÷12.6 billion. Browne spoke at a meeting with the minister, as did South Leinster


Regional Chairman Tom Short and a delegation of members from the IFA National Grain Committee. Short stressed to the minister that, although there has been a


reasonable start to the 2018 harvest of winter crops, the situation with spring crops is totally different, and he highlighted the potential crisis in waiting. “At best, yields are predicted to be only average, due to the wet


cold spring and subsequent drought conditions, while it would appear that grain and straw volume will be poor, particularly along the east and southeast coasts,” Short said. Regarding the current drought crisis, Short said that tillage farmers


are willing to help by planting catch crops to alleviate the fodder deficit. However, due to the high establishment costs of these crops, he recommended that the minister introduce incentive measures to encourage tillage farmers to grow such crops. Tillage farmers who plant catch crops under Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS) need a derogation in relation to the choice of crops and need to be able to conserve by October 1. Speaking on Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2020, Browne


impressed on the minister the critical importance of an increased overall CAP budget, as campaigned for by IFA. Regarding the tillage sector, he emphasised that these farmers have been disproportionately affected by the current CAP due to convergence and greening issues, and he added that any continuation of these types of measures would only contribute to the further decline of the arable area in this country. Along with an increase in the protein payment, Browne called for


other targeted, coupled supports to be considered for Pillar I in the proposed CAP regulations. Regarding Pillar II, he said greater flexibility was needed in farm schemes so that tillage farmers can qualify for higher grant rate payments. This is particularly relevant in relation to the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes (TAMS) and GLAS schemes. Under the proposed new Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme, tillage farmers must be eligible for payments on land that qualifies for an ANC payment in the review of areas. Other issues raised with Minister Creed included support for


PAGE 24 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 FEED COMPOUNDER


renewables, quality assurance testing of imported grain, low cost loans, Origin Green and research on native-grown feedstuffs.


NORTHERN IRELAND GRAIN TRADE ASSOCIATION CONFIRMS GROWTH IN FEED DEMAND The continued dry weather in Northern Ireland, along with poor growing conditions, has created an unprecedented demand for feed materials to compensate for the shortage of grass for grazing livestock. Northern Ireland’s farmers are experiencing up to 20 per cent


reduction in grass yields in some areas, and with the peak growth months already past, the potential for a late burst of growth to replenish forage stocks reduces with every passing day. The situation is even worse in the south — particularly the southwest of Ireland, where the highest density of dairy herds is located. This is traditionally a region where production is highly grass-based — but when the grass fails, producers must look to purchased feeds to maintain production and herd health. Demand for feed in this region is higher now than it will be at any stage of the winter, with local millers overwhelmed with orders for compounds and high-fibre materials to extend the available forage. According to a spokesman for the Northern Ireland Grain Trade


Association (NIGTA), feed importers and distributers throughout Ireland are struggling to secure the materials needed to maintain supplies to farmers. “With our dependence on the global marketplace for feed materials,


there is a significant lead time involved in securing material at the origin, transporting it to port and then the shipping time — up to five weeks for the palm products from Malaysia and Indonesia — before it is landed in Ireland,” the NIGTA representative said. Securing tonnages of these materials is complicated by the fact


that most are by-products of food production or energy generation processes, and the volumes available are dependent on demand for the primary product. Soya hulls, citrus pulp and palm kernel are examples of valuable feed materials that have a limited availability and a seasonal supply pattern. Ireland is not the only region experiencing extremely dry conditions:


many parts of Europe and the Black Sea region are also affected. This is reducing crop yields, with Russia’s estimate of a 20-million-tonne reduction in the wheat crop sending prices surging upwards. Barley is also trading very strongly, leaving maize as the best value cereal for livestock rations. Further afield, lack of moisture has also impacted the soybean


harvest in Argentina, the main source of soymeal and hulls for the Irish market. Weather is not the only factor in the current volatility of raw material


markets: trade wars appear to be inevitable, with US President Donald Trump taking on Canada, the EU and the Chinese. China accounts for 70 per cent of world trade in soybeans, and with the US supplying most of the 100+ million tonnes imported, this spat has far-reaching implications for world trade — including how feed materials are imported into Ireland.


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