8 minute read
Farming News
Louis Murchan
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According to the new Minister for the Environment, etc, Irish farming has everything to gain in going green. This is a worrying announcement from a Minister who has little experience in agricultural related topics. Mr Ryan, by all accounts is a very nice person and a genuine politician, who has resisted the political extremes of some of his more radical colleagues. Farming is on its knees, at present, with now end in sight, in terms of the onslaught from regulation and pressures from milk and beef/sheep pricing. Anyone familiar with the current farming climate will understand that farmers are unsure of farm payments, with the Ghost of Brexit Past, and the Ghost of Coronavirus Present. And we don’t know what the Ghost of Future brings, but it will not bring goodies. We in Ireland also lost our EU Commissioner, who yielded influence above our weight, nationally in the corridors of power in Europe. There has been nothing secured with regard to Farm Payments, and no clear indication given as to their future structure, or levels. Farmers live in fear that the Covid-19 crisis may eat up the reserves that provide the farm payment stream. This is not a endless well of euros, dollars, and yen. It is finite, and the current pandemic situation is gobbling up vast amounts of these funds.
So, to tell us in the farming community that we must pull up our socks, and be prepared to adapt, when the world is in crisis, and other nations will be more reliant on Ireland’s food production does not make sense. We here in Ireland produce approximately 10 kg of food, for every 1 kg required for national consumption, in the country. The excess 90% goes for export, much of this to the UK, but also to the EU, Middle East and Far Eastern market. These markets are open, mainly due to food shortfalls in these countries. Not every nation is blessed with the climatic conditions that we (and similarly New Zealand, in the Southern Hemisphere) experience. We are net food producers. We make up the shortfall in other countries. The Climate Action (Amendment) Bill has the fear of God put into many of us. Our farming communities are the Guardians of our Countryside, and they do a good job. They ask only that they be allowed produce sufficient produce to guarantee a sufficient income, and live a decent lifestyle. Other sectors have their unions, and labour law, and Health & Safety regulations, including the right to “Dignity at Work”. Farmers ask the same. So, Please Minister, make sure when you introduce your new Bill, next week or whenever, in the Dail or wherever, make sure that you insure that the 130,000 farmers, our primary producers, are protected. In the mid 1980’s there were 250,000 farmers in the country. They are becoming a rare species, and will soon need protection themselves.
NITRATE PENALTY LETTER ISSUING
The Department of Agriculture recently started issuing of penalty letters to farmers for breaches of the Nitrates limits in respect of 2019. This is in accordance with the Nitrates Regulation that allows farmers to produce and apply 170 kg of Organic Nitrogen per hectare, and 250kg in total nitrogen applied to a hectare. Letters will be issued in tranches from now to year end. If you receive one of these letters, it will be too late to rectify the situation, but you may be in danger of repeating this situation again for 2020. As a result, you may want to contact your agricultural advisor, as solutions may be available. The department conducts administrative checks annually to ensure compliance with maximum stocking rates prescribed in the Nitrates regulations of 170kg/N/ha; or for those who hold an approved derogation of 250kg/N/ha. Over 900 farmers identified to date as having breached the limits have been notified of this and the resulting deduction to payments. “Work is ongoing to identify those in breach of the regulations and further The spokesperson said that the department has “proactively highlighted” the opportunity for farmers to avoid these penalties by issuing press releases and text messages periodically to alert farmers when the nitrogen and phosphorus statements have been updated. Measures farmers can take to reduce Nitrate levels include:
Exporting organic manure; Renting additional land; or The temporary movement of animals. The deadline for submission of the Nitrate record form declaring these actions (Record 3, 4 and 5 forms) in relation to this year is Thursday, December 31, 2020, the department representative concluded. Last week, the department announced that interim Nitrogen and Phosphorus statements (N and P statements) for the period January to August 2020 are now available on the department’s online ‘agfood’ system.
CSO REMINDS FARMERS TO RETURN CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE FORMS
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is reminding farmers to complete and return their Census of Agriculture forms now, as the deadline has passed. Farmers who have not yet completed and returned the census will be receiving a reminder letter this week from the CSO. The office highlighted that answering the Census of Agriculture should only take a few minutes, as the census form has been reduced to four pages. The census can either be filled out on a ‘hard copy’ document and returned by the freepost envelope provided by the CSO, or it can be filled out online. The information provided by farmers will be strictly confidential and will only be used for statistical purposes, the office stressed. You have the option to complete the paper form and return it using the freepost envelope or to complete it online using your unique login details that arrived by post this week,” he added. This information will be of great value to the farming community and it forms part of an EU-wide programme of farm censuses being conducted this year. Your response to the census is confidential and will be used only for statistical purposes,” Doherty pointed out. Farmers are reminded that this is not what one would regard as compulsory from a farm payment point-of-view, but it is COMPULSORY, as it is required by law that every citizen assists the CSO, in their work. Also, it’s not a difficult form to fill out, and farm advisors have been known to assist, if it is bothersome. So, take 5 to 10 minutes, and fill it out. Or stick it in an envelope and post it to your advisor.
TREE DAY MARKED BY PLANTING TREE IN PRIMARY SCHOOL THROUGH-OUT THE COUNTRY
Ireland’s forests have over 312 million tonnes of carbon stored in the trees and soil and make a significant contribution to climate change. And of course, as timber they are also a great carbon store. So, we also need to use more timber and wood in our ever day lives. Referring to the theme for this year’s campaign, which is to “Be a Force for Nature”, the Minister, who was accompanied by Eanna Ní Lamhna, President of the Tree Council of Ireland and beloved radio environmentalist, encouraged the primary school children she met to become more active in sustainability and climate issues. It is important to maintain Ireland’s unique plant health status to protect our trees, forests and the wider environment. DAFM continues to implement the recently published the Plant Health Biosecurity Strategy. The Tree Council of Ireland, called on primary schools across the country to plant a tree on Thursday, 1st October 2020. The theme for this year’s campaign is “Be a Force for Nature” to encourage primary school children around the country to become more active in sustainability and climate issues. Known as Tetra Pak Tree Day, this is an opportunity for children, teachers and parents to put down the school books, spend time outdoors and learn to become more environmentally aware. The campaign’s mascot Sammy Squirrel can be found on the back of Avonmore school milk cartons from September with simple tips on how to become more
environmentally conscious. As part of this year’s Tetra Pak Tree Day, 1,500 native tree saplings will be made available through the campaign website for primary schools to plant on their school grounds, or in a pot in the classroom. Planting a tree is also one of the requirements to achieve the Green-School’s Green Flag for Biodiversity. More details on the campaign including new class lessons, videos, information on recycling, food waste and nature walks can be found on www.treeday. ie Each year Tree Day places a focus on a different native tree and this year the chosen tree is the Scots Pine or An Giúis, one of Ireland’s few evergreen trees. The seeds from the Scots Pine cones are one of the red squirrels’ favourite foods and honey bees use the tree’s resinous sap to make propolis or bee glue; a sealant for their hive that also protects them from bacteria and viruses.
- Contact Louis Murchan Tel;- 087-2857938 (B Ag Sc, Dip EIA Mgmt) Agricultural & Environmental Advisor
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