{"id":1337695,"date":"2024-06-28T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.agriland.ie\/?p=1337695"},"modified":"2024-06-28T10:26:30","modified_gmt":"2024-06-28T09:26:30","slug":"ifa-working-on-pre-budget-2025-submission-for-tillage-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/farming-news\/ifa-working-on-pre-budget-2025-submission-for-tillage-sector\/","title":{"rendered":"IFA working on pre-Budget 2025 submission for tillage sector"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Work on a pre-Budget 2025<\/a> submission regarding tillage is well advanced on the part of the Irish Farmers\u2019 Association (IFA) National Grain Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0This has been confirmed by the group\u2019s chair, Kieran McEvoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He attended this week\u2019s 2024 Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) cereal variety trials open day in Co. Cork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McEvoy has welcomed the \u20ac100\/ha support commitment already made by agriculture minister, Charlie McConalogue, for tillage farmers in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut we need to see a five-year, strategic commitment on the part of government to tillage farmers. And this must be underpinned by an additional \u20ac250\/ha support payment throughout the period,” he stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to McEvoy, Ireland\u2019s tillage sector needs the full backing of government into the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe projected 400,000ha footprint of the tillage sector remains a viable target. We did see some slippage in the area planted out this year. But, thankfully, it wasn\u2019t as great as we thought it might be,” he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cEvery time we see 3-4% less cereals in the ground, this results in a lot of tillage farmers becoming unviable; their scale of operation is becoming smaller.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of tillage farmers depend on rented land to make their businesses viable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tillage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

McEvoy acknowledged that significant acreages of maize and fodder beet have been planted out this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd I hope this works out for the farmers involved,\u201d he commented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThese crops add to the rotations followed on tillage farms. And obviously, it\u2019s important that they also add to the profitability of these businesses as well.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important that more alliances are built between farmers rather than having friction between the different sectors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McEvoy also recognised the need for those growers committing to maize and beet to get their crops successfully harvested later in the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe last thing we need is for the push towards forage crops to be a one year wonder,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cA late harvest or a sudden burst of grass growth at the back end can make maize and beet seem like very expensive crops.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Current estimates are pointing to a 50%, or more, increase in the area of forage maize established across the island of Ireland, year-on-year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No figures are available, as yet, for fodder beet. But here, again, the cropping area is thought to be well up on 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As is always the case, weather will be the big factor in determining the harvest dates for forage crops.<\/p>\n\n\n