IFA President Tom Parlon said today that "at least 600,000 cattle and 50,000 farms are involved in the massive stock build-up as a result of restrictions on animal movement due to foot and mouth precautions.
"FMD restrictions are now causing major distortions with thousands of farms over-crowded with stock, while neighbouring fields lie empty."
Mr Parlon said that thousands of farmers have severe farm management difficulties, with winter fodder exhausted, no income to buy feed and surplus stock having to graze silage ground and literally eating into next year's fodder supplies.
"On the other hand," he said, "thousands more farmers, who normally buy in cattle for summer grazing and finishing, have to leave grazing lands idle and cannot buy the cattle they depend on for their income."
The IFA President said three crucial meetings would take place next week, which must face up to the need for traceable farm-to-farm movement to be introduced without further delays.
The IFA meets Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh on Tuesday May 8, followed by a meeting with the Chairman of the Expert Group Professor Michael Monaghan on Wednesday May 9 and a decisive meeting of the Expert Group itself to consider the farm movement issue on Thursday, May 10.
Mr Parlon pointed out that "by the time the Expert Group meets next week, it will be 50 days after the country's only FMD case in north Louth. IFA has received country-wide reports of the severity of the stock crisis due to the ban on all farm-to-farm sales, which have now been stopped for 10 weeks at the busiest time of the year for sales of calves and stores."
He called on Teagasc to compile a comprehensive report for Minister Walsh and the Expert Group on the depth of the stocking crisis.
Mr Parlon also highlighted the cost on farmers of the vet fees required for animal movement and pointed out that in the North these fees were being covered by the Department of Agriculture.
