As concern grows around food and animal feed in light of the war in Ukraine, the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) has outlined the need to consider various options in addressing these concerns.

Speaking after a specially convened national council meeting of the association, its national vice president, Pheilim Molloy, said “we will need to be creative and practical as we face into this storm".

Some of these options include considering wool as an alternative to fertiliser, and a suspension of the carbon tax for seven months.

For farmers, Molloy said, price and supply - especially in relation to fertiliser - are key considerations as they will impact both in the short-term and into next year if fodder yields are back.

On this, the INHFA leader pointed to the possibility of wool as an alternative fertiliser source.

“With wool containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium - in addition to sulphur and other valuable minerals - this could be an additional option on some farms,” said Molloy.

It is, he stressed, vital that the company now commissioned to assess alternative options for wool, prioritises this with a view to assessing its feasibility and if it is a viable option then we need to put a plan in place as soon as possible.

Beyond this, there are a number of other options the government and department should consider, explained Molloy, which include:

While these proposals can form part of an overall solution, the INHFA vice president said growing costs are becoming a major concern.

"This is a significant factor in the increasing costs of green and white diesel and must now be addressed. On this basis we are calling for the suspension of carbon tax for the next seven months which will get us to the end of the harvest season.

"In doing this, we will help alleviate some of the financial pressure on farmers and contractors.”