A row has broken out between Ministers over the suspension of a €12-million scheme that pays farmers to chop straw and incorporate it into the soil.
Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue suspended the scheme last week, leading to a backlash from farm organisations and Fine Gael politicians, including his departmental colleague, Minister of State Martin Heydon.
The scheme is designed to provide financial support for tillage farmers to increase organic carbon levels in soil by chopping and incorporating straw from cereal crops into the earth.
Mr McConalogue on Wednesday announced he will seek a deferral of this year’s iteration of the scheme from the European Commission, arguing that bad weather last winter depleted national straw reserves, meaning there was very little availability earlier this year.
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He said there was a need to focus on building up fodder stocks for next year, adding that he appreciated tillage farmers “may be disappointed by this move”.
In a statement issued to farming publications on Thursday, Mr Heydon said farmers had made plans already in the expectation that the measure would be available to them.
“Suspending the scheme now as harvest is under way across the country has thrown many farmers’ plans into disarray,” he said, adding that he is “concerned about the level of consultation that took place with farmers and their representatives prior to this change being proposed”.
A group of five Fine Gael TDs and Senators have called on Mr McConalogue to reverse the decision to suspend the scheme. TDs David Stanton and John Paul Phelan and Senators Tim Lombard, John Cummins and Garret Ahearn said the decision was taken without any warning, does not make any sense and “should be reversed”.
“The fact that many farmers have already chopped straw in line with the scheme and were expecting payment makes the decision to suspend the scheme harder to understand,” they said in a statement released by Fine Gael’s press office.
Irish Farmers Association president Francie Gorman described the decision as a “solo run” that gave “no consideration to the huge challenges being faced by the tillage sector”.
“There is no doubt there are concerns about fodder availability for the upcoming winter. However, what’s needed is for the Minister to sit down with all stakeholders and make a proper plan which considers all sectors and all options. The [Straw Incorporation Measure] has been positive for tillage farmers during very tough conditions,” he said.
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