Up €100k excise duty and VAT per acre of malting barley - farmer
The government may be securing up to €100,000 in excise duty and VAT for every acre of malting barley that is dedicated to whiskey production.
The claim has been made by tillage farmer, Art Murphy, who farms in the Ferns area of Co. Wexford.
His estimated figures are based on an assumed yield of 3.5t of green barley per acre, which can deliver 3t of malt.
“1t of malt can produce 1,150 bottles of whiskey; the government duty on each bottle is €13.98, bringing the revenues created up to €16,077/t of malt, or just over €48,000/ac of malting barley that is grown," he told Agriland.
Sources within Ireland’s whiskey distilling sector have confirmed to Agriland that these figures tally with what they estimate.
However, Murphy is strongly of the view that the total tax take for the government from malting barley production could be closer to €100,000/ac.
This scaled up figure takes account of VAT revenues linked to retail sales of whiskey in Ireland and the significant taxes paid by tillage farmers linked to the actual growing of malting barley crops.
“I am asking government to confirm these figures. In my opinion is they are reasonably accurate," he continued.
“What they point to is the key role played by tillage farmers at the heart of the Irish economy. And this is a fundamental point, one which government must fully recognise.
“Harvest 2025 is now underway. I hope to be cutting winter barley crops over the coming days.
“But the reality is that tillage farmers are looking into the abyss of exceptionally poor prices for the third successive year.
“Government must act to support the tillage sector. Not to do so will be seen as ministers killing the goose that laid the golden egg," he added.
Art Murphy is a malting barley grower of note. February of this year saw him win the Grain Grower of the Year title at the 2024 Tirlán Quality Grain Awards.
He is also a leading member of the Irish Grain Growers' Group (IGGG).
The organisation’s co–secretary, Bobby Miller endorsed the comments made by the Wexford tillage farmer.
“We will be meeting [agriculture] Minister Martin Heydon within the next fortnight to discuss our Budget 2026 submission," Miller said.
“We will be asking for the introduction of a sustainability fund, which will deliver an additional €350/ha of additional support to tillage farmers on an ongoing basis.
“IGGG will also be asking for a series of tax incentives to be introduced which recognise the role palyed by tillage farmers in reducing the carbon footprint of Irish agriculture as a whole.
“Similarly, tax incentives should also be made available to those livestock farmers, merchants and feed compounders, who commit to purchasing Irish grown grain."
