The Irish Grain Growers' Group (IGGG) chair, Bobby Miller has said that now is the time to highlight the case for Irish farming ahead of the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The comments come as a delegation from the IGGG recently travelled to Brussels to meet with Irish MEPs.

"We covered the basics of the tillage sector, our requirements when it comes to CAP and the benefits of the tillage sector from an environmental sustainability point of view.

"We went out with a positive story to tell our MEPs," Miller told Agriland.

The IGGG chair said the organisation has concerns about the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) beyond 2027 due to budgetary pressures coming from other areas, such as defence.

Miller said that the trip was "a very worthwhile exercise" as it allowed them to highlight the needs of the Irish tillage sector to the MEPs.

"There's a lot to play for out there, but we were out there putting our case for tillage farmers," he said.

The IGGG delegation highlighted to MEPs that under the current CAP, 70% of tillage farmers lost out under convergence.

Miller said this is a "substantial figure" for a sector with "excellent credentials" when it comes to environmental sustainability.

"There's a clash of interests there. Why reduce the budget of a sector that's meeting targets on one hand and then on the other hand looking for sustainability?" he added.

Miller said that the MEPs were "very happy" to see Irish farming representatives coming to Brussels, adding that more of this needs to happen.

"It's important to be out there at this point in time. The start of the [CAP] process as regards gatherings of meetings is happening in the next couple of months.

"It's a vital time to get our message out at the start of the process, rather than at the end of it," he said.

Meanwhile, the IGGG is hosting a meeting for all tillage farmers in Corrin Mart, Fermoy, Co. Cork at 7:45p.m tomorrow (Thursday, February 6).

The event will be addressed by Darren Plant from Optifarm Agricultural Consultants who will discuss what are the opportunities for tillage farmers when it comes to carbon farming.

The meeting will also hear from Michael McSweeney of Nephin Renewable Gas on the role of the tillage sector in the anaerobic digestion (AD) industry.