Cautious welcome for fodder aid scheme
THERE has been a guarded welcome for the Fodder Support Scheme from farm representatives – after an initial hiccup over the exclusion of hill farmers.
Now, according to Agriculture Minister, Charlie McConalogue, farmers with Category 1 lands in ANC areas – essentially hill farmers – will be eligibility to draw the payments: €100 per hectare up to a maximum of €1,000.
Connacht IFA Regional Chair, Pat Murphy, told the Farming Tribune that hill farmers should never have been excluded in the scheme in the first place but at least the situation had been remedied following the U-turn by the Minister and the Department.
“In our view the scheme should have been open to all applicants – dairy farmers are still excluded – given the rocketing costs of fertiliser, meal and fuel.
“The scheme will be a help to farmers, but we feel strongly that more aid will be required given the current situation with costs – and also what’s being projected over the coming months,” said Pat Murphy.
He advised farmers to ensure that by the end of the silage season they all had enough fodder in their yards to see them through the Winter ahead.
“You just never know what kind of Winter or Spring we will get – the key thing for every farmer is to have that bit extra in reserve just in case a worst-case scenario emerges,” said Pat Murphy.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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