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ICSA REJECTS CONDITIONALITY ATTACHED TO €100 MILLION FUND

Jun 24, 2019 | Latest News, Press Releases | 0 comments

24 JUNE 2019

ICSA suckler chairman John Halley has said that the €100 million Brexit package must be delivered as soon as possible and with no conditionality. “Farmers in the cattle sector have endured a really difficult period and it is urgent that the money is paid as quickly as possible.”

“ICSA is totally opposed to any conditionality, such as compulsory stock reductions being linked to the €100 million package. We want to see the money delivered as quickly as possible to the farmers hit hardest by Brexit.”

“I believe that suckler farmers have also felt the impact of Brexit. Weanling price has been significantly lower in 2018-19 than prices prior to Brexit. ICSA has held consultative meetings with farmers over the past few weeks and it is clear that farmers are at the end of their wits as a result of poor prices in the cattle sector. Many suckler farmers are contemplating whether there is any future and beef finishers are wondering what is the point of buying cattle next autumn.”

“ICSA believes there is going to have to be a serious amount of soul searching about the future of beef in this country. Advice to increase output is totally counter-productive in a scenario where we can’t even sell the beef we have at a viable price. There are a lot of demands on farmers now to deliver on environmental targets such as climate change.  However, it is not on to expect farmers to do this for free. We need an agri-environment scheme that is more like REPS and less like GLAS.  In other words, a scheme that rewards those who deliver the environmental benefits.”

ENDS

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