Trading to cease on 'Day of Action'

Linda O'Reilly The IFA in Cavan is appealing to all farmers and producers to participate in a 'Day of Action' next month to fight for the future of family farming in Ireland and send a clear message to Government about the need to defend the full CAP Budget in Europe for 2013. Elizabeth Ormiston, the chairperson of the Cavan Farm Business Committee, said that organisers locally will also be asking marts for their co-operation with the protest. "We are appealing to farmers now to sell any cattle or sheep or not to let their milk go to the creamery on that day. We want no trading of any sort," explained Ms Ormiston of the major day of action on Tuesday, October 9. Farmers will also be protesting in Dublin on the day to highlight the escalating costs and prize squeeze on their farm incomes. Following a budget meeting of the Cavan IFA last week, Ms Ormiston explains further: "This day has been organised to highlight the pressures farmers are under at the moment, with escalating costs eg fuel increase, feed stuffs, fertilizer etc and falling prices in some commodities such as beef, pig, sheep and poultry. Teagasc forecast a fall in farm incomes for 2012 of near 30% and people must realise that the average farm income at the moment is just under 50% of the average industrial wage." The IFA's calling on the Government to reject flat rate payments and the greening issue - which it says would have a detrimental effect on Irish farming. The association is also calling for a Rural Development Programme to include a farm retirement scheme to support the farming communities of rural Ireland. Ms Ormiston says: "The Irish government must retain 100% of Ireland's national envelope from Europe so that the SFP and Rural development measures are maintained." Those payments to Irish farmers are in the region of €1.5bn. Along with income predictions for farmers next year, the IFA says that the "disastrous" summer and escalating input costs have put massive pressure on farmers. Ms Ormiston, who herself has a suckler farm just outside of Mullagh, cites the climbing cost of feed as just one example. She purchased one and a half tonnes of creep feed for her suckler calves at a cost of €501 but says that this won't last her the month. She has this message for Minister Simon Coveney: "In Budget of 2012 there was a 6% decrease in the overall agricultural budget, yet there was a disproportionate reduction of 17% in net funding for farm schemes. We need to remind Mr Coveney of both the economic and social importance of our most indigenous industry, agriculture, to our country. Agriculture is the main production sector of the Irish food industry and together they provide 14-15% of total employment, about 300,000 people, and €9bn of exports in this economy." Funding for farm schemes must be maintained in Budget 2013, says Ms Ormiston. A meeting of the Cavan IFA will be organised in the coming weeks to mobile farmers for the 'Day of Action' and tractorcade in Dublin on October 9.