Tipperary farmers in battle for survival

Tipperary farmers are reeling from an array of serious problems brought on by a prolonged period of bad weather.

Ongoing bad weather is creating huge problems for farmers, with fields too wet for planting or taking livestock.

Some farmers are facing fodder shortages as animals have been in sheds for too long with farmers throughout the county under enormous stress.

After almost a year of above average rainfall, farmers are now seeking a co-ordinated response from Government.

 IFA Chairman for South Tipperary Pat Carroll said the weather had caused alarming problems for tillage farmers all over the county.

“Tillage is the big issue in Tipperary. The work that now needs to be done is just huge but the window to do the planting in is so small,” said the IFA leader.

He said the €100 support announced by Government was not good enough.

“Unfortunately this is not going to go anywhere near to cover the loss of yields. We need more support. With the crops going in now, barley, beans and oats, the issue will be that the yields will be lower because  they are going in later. They are late and that means the later the harvesting will be,” he said.

Pat Carroll said the tillage payment of €100 per hectare announced by Minister McConalogue at the Fianna Fáil Árd Fheis was a long way short of what is required.

“The reality is that before this announcement, the Government’s 2024 allocation for tillage farmers was nearly €30m down on 2023. This announcement is unlikely to even fill that hole,” he said.

“Instead of making a rushed announcement for an Árd Fheis audience, the Minister should engage with the sector and come forward with proposals to address one of the biggest crises in the history of our tillage sector,” said Pat Caroll.

His North Tipperary IFA counterpart Baden Powell said that while initiatives announced by Government and  the co-operatives were helpful, he was very concerned about the small farmer.

“I would be very concerned that the small farmer is feeling very isolated. A lot of people are very down after the very poor weather on Sunday night. The initiatives are very good if  you are a dairy farmer, or a big dairy farmer, but if you are a man with 30 sucklers up the side of a mountain and fodder has run out, that will create huge problems,” he said.

Baden Powell called on farmers to help out their neighbours in those cases.

“It is a crisis and farmers just need to be aware of the need to look out for the small farmers who might feel isolated during these difficult times,” he said.

The IFA representative said it was encouraging to see that co-ops were looking  after their members by announcing initiatives to help their members  cope during the crisis.

“The intervention by Tirlán is very good and I have to say that the measures of support brought in by the co-ops are very helpful and it is great to see the co-ops looking after their members at this time,” he said.

IFA President Francie Gorman acknowledged the intervention by Tírlan, after the co-op announced it would pay a 3c/l weather top-up on March milk, along with other support payments. 

The IFA President met with Tirlán  where the IFA delegation was briefed on the details of the package. 

“This is the kind of solidarity that farmers need as they grapple with the dreadful weather conditions. Apart from the milk price top-up, there are other measures to help provide feed at a reduced price, and improve cash flow for farmers,” he said.

With the continuing adverse weather conditions, banks and Credit Unions must make immediate support available to help farmers according to IFA National Farm Business Chair Bill O’Keeffe.

“Farmers are under intense pressure due to the continued challenging weather conditions, with cattle housed much longer than planned, vegetable crops unable to be harvested and tillage crops unable to be sown cash flow issues are building on farms,” Bill O’Keeffe stated.

“We are in constant contact with both the Credit Unions and the banks on this issue and the response we are receiving is positive, with a message to come and talk to providers of credit to see how they can assist farmers through this period,” he said.

“While this message is positive the problem now is one of time. Where farmers have a requirement for fodder and have cash flow pressures, they need immediate access to cash. Credit Unions and especially Banks must look at putting solutions in place for same day decisions on lending applications during this period.”

“From discussions with Credit Unions the Cultivate product is available through many Credit Unions and a decision from your local Credit Union should be relatively swift. For Credit Unions not offering the Cultivate product there are other lending options available. The main banks have products such as the Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme which can be utilised at times of cash flow issues such as this,” he said.

Templemore farmer, Eamon Carroll,  is the Deputy President of the ICMSA.

This week that organisation said it had repeatedly expressed disquiet at what they thought was a degree of complacency on the part of officials in the face of the unrelenting rain. 

The ICMSA had outlined a number of proposals to the Fodder Committee, in the belief that they should be considered as a package.