The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) president has called for “science based solutions” to the issue of bovine tuberculosis (TB).
In his inaugural address as president at the ICMSA Annual General Meeting (AGM), Denis Drennan said that increasing levels of the disease across the country is “a massive concern” for farmers.
“We can’t keep doing what we are doing and expect a different result. What we are doing just isn’t working and we cannot stay at this.
“A structured deer cull needs to commence early in 2025 and new strategy for managing badger setts.
“The focus cannot always be on restricting farmers, all actors in animal movements – very specifically including marts – need to play their part,” he said.
The ICMSA president said that the past two months have boosted farmer morale “due to the ‘mini revival’ in milk and beef prices”.
However, he said that this had come off the back of a very difficult 18 months for the sector which was “on the floor financially and often psychologically”.
Drennan said that politicians who were successful in the general election will be held to the commitments made during the campaign, particularly around the controversial EU-Mercosur trade deal.
ICMSA
Drennan told the ICMSA AGM in Limerick that the association’s core concern is family farm income.
While milk price is “now at a good place”, Drennan said we need to maintain this into the peak period of 2025.
The ICMSA president added that the review of the Bord Bia Quality Assurance (QA) standard “can’t be all about more regulations”.
“We need to see simplifications and reward for good practice. Clear evidence of delivery from the marketplace is required.
“If we are doing the sustainability ‘heavy lifting’ then we should be getting the proportionate reward. Farmers need to see a real reward for their efforts and we’re not sure we are seeing that real reward,” he said.
Mercosur
While Drennan told the meeting that there is optimism about 2025 for beef given tight cattle numbers in Ireland and EU, he highlighted the “critical issue” of the Mercosur deal for Irish beef farmers.
“EU livestock accounts for 7.16% of global livestock emissions in 2021, Brazil on its own accounts for 12.03%.
“Between 1990-2021, total methane emissions from EU livestock decreased by 25% while Brazil increased by 48%, while Nitrous Oxide emissions fell by 22% in the EU, Brazil’s increased by 49%.
“These are not ICMSA figures, they are EU Commission figures. The same Commission that’s pressing for the Mercosur agreement that will mostly benefit Brazilian beef exports to the EU,” Drennan said.
Drennan also took aim at the “burden of regulation” facing farmers which he said “grows heavier by the day”.
“We cannot continue to load regulations on farmers that are not ‘science-checked’ and which have a big impact on farmers but little – if any – impact on water quality.
“We should go back to the start: look at all the regulations, keep the ones that work and drop the ones that are unnecessary,” he said.
Drennan said that the new minister for agriculture will need to move away from regulating dairy farmers and treat them like other sectors based on collaboration and incentivisation.
“We have too many schemes, farmers can’t keep up with them, advisors can’t keep up with them and – as the delays have proved conclusively – the department can’t keep up with them,” he said.
On the issue of live exports, Drennan said that the ICMSA is working with a ‘walk-on, walk-off’ carrier as a means to ship calves to the Netherlands.
“We are confident that progress can be made for spring 2025. Hopefully, this will be a positive step forward,” he said.
The ICMSA president said that the nitrates derogation is critical to all farmers, adding that a formal application for its retention is expected to be made later this month.
“ICMSA is confident that the efforts of farmers will deliver water quality improvements, and we must deliver a sensible and practical derogation. We can and must secure this,” he said.
Drennan said that “the planning exemption proposed for slurry storage needs to be put in place immediately and based on sensible parameters”. He added that serial objectors cannot be allowed to dictate planning policy.