Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has committed to keeping the €10m Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) funding in the tillage sector this year.

Today (Saturday, July 20) Minister McConalogue confirmed that he is "ensuring that the €10m committed funding stays in the sector this year".

It remains to be seen how this fund will be used in the tillage sector, but the minister is set to meet Irish farm organisations on Tuesday, July 23 to explore potential options for doing this.

In a statement today, it was clarified by the minister that "against the backdrop of poor growth this year and fodder reserves being depleted after a long winter" that his objective is "to ensure that as much straw as possible is saved for fodder this year".  

On Wednesday, July 17, Minister McConalogue announced his intention to seek a deferral of the 2024 SIM from the European Commission.

Both Ministers of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon and Pippa Hackett have expressed their dissatisfaction at such a decision and its impact on tillage farmers.

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and the Irish Grain Growers’ Group (IGGG) have issued a joint call for the reversal of a decision to suspend the SIM and have urged the Taoiseach to intervene if necessary.

Many other elected representatives have also called on the agriculture minister to reverse his decision, however speaking to Agriland this week, the minister said that everyone was entitled to their views on the matter.

He added that fodder and bedding could face a winter shortage if he didn’t take action now to ensure enough of a supply.

“But as minister I have a responsibility to prepare for the winter ahead and to make sure the sector is in a strong, resilient position,” Minister McConalogue had told Agriland.

“We’ve come out of the longest winter we have experienced in many years; seven months basically where animals were housed and it depleted reserves,” the minister added.

However, farm representatives want urgent action to resolve the matter now.

“The [agriculture] minister has offered to meet us next Tuesday, which in our view is too late,” the IFA and IGGG continued.

“If the minister continues with this unilateral approach, the Taoiseach must intervene to overturn the decision without delay.”