Brian Stanley: Calls for a National Mission to Revive Tillage

Thanks, Nicola, and I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important issue, and I just want to note that the fact that the two Ministers are here, sometimes there are debates here, and the Minister, the Senior Ministers and the Minister for State are not here, and just to note the fact that for most of this debate there were three Ministers here, and while we might disagree on a lot of things, I think it just shows that there is a seriousness, and there needs to be a seriousness in terms of, you know, the changes that need to be made here in this sector. The tillage sector does need an uplift. There was a saying, one more cow, one more sow, one more acre under the plough, which some of you are familiar with, but we did not get the one acre under the plough, and we are not getting one acre under the plough. There is an issue of sustainability, and it is not just environmental sustainability, but economic sustainability and input costs have gone out to the roof, and that is the simple facts in terms of the tillage sector. The decline in numbers has been outlined, the number of full-time tillage farmers in the state is in the region of four and a half thousand. There is a huge decline Ministers in it, and you know this, and we need to have a seismic shift here. This isn't just about doing anything at the edges. This needs to be a national mission at this stage, to get more land under tillage, for economic reasons, for sustainability reasons, and for environmental reasons, and for heading off, the huge fines that are coming at us from Europe, in terms of meeting our obligations. Unfortunately, tillage farmers are leaving in droves. The day of farmers having a few acres of beed, a few acres of grain, you know, side by side with cattle, or side by side with dairy, is gone. And we need to address this. The viability of the sector is under pressure. I have met with representatives of the tillage sector over recent months, and they have outlined it very strongly to me, and the individual tillage farmers, and there is no doubt about it they are under pressure. Milk is going well for now, beef is going well for now, but the tillage sector, the margins just aren't there. And, you know, I think that is an honest statement to make, in terms of the business of tillage farming has to be economically viable. So we need that huge shift in terms of direction towards horticulture. The horticulture and, indeed, tillage generally, the horticulture sector is nearly wiped out. We need to face up to this. We need to face up to this and deal with this. Now, the budget, and any increase is welcome, the £50 million that you announced. But, you know, there is £20 million that will go and stand on ongoing schemes and ongoing commitments, and the 30-year remainder is not that much of a change from last year. The government was reported as promising £60 million. That is what IFA figures are saying. And that is certainly needed. The figure of €100 per hectare subsidy is clearly inadequate. And I would appeal to you to look at this again, because what people in the sector are telling me, and have been telling me for a long time, is that it needs more like €100 per acre. That is £220 or £240 per hectare in terms of supports here. And we need greater diversification, and to broaden the range of crops as well, and particularly cover crops. And could I just say, in relation to the loss of the beet sector, that has been a huge loss, and not just a financial loss. It is a loss in a lot of other ways as well. You know, typically, in taking a leash when it finished, there were 260 beet growers in the county, and that is just one small county. Those farmers, not in just a cash crop, but they also had beet pulp in December, typically. In January, they had beet tops like cattle out when there was no feed. So they were able to reduce import, or be able to reduce their feed costs. And that is very, very important. Because now what happens, everything has to be bought in. Everything has to be bought in. And that is creating a huge add-on cost for farmers. We have a climate emergency. Farmers that I meet want to play their part in that, but we must allow them to do that. Chagas have highlighted the very unique position of tillage in terms of reducing their carbon output. That is widely accepted per acre. It is far less now than dairy, for example. You know, the dairy farmers are doing well, and previous speakers have said that, and that is all well and good. But I think it is important that we recognise that the tillage sector has a huge role to play here. And the fact that the dairy sector, the tillage sector has contracted so much in recent years, hasn't helped us in terms of getting down our emissions in a sustainable way. Also, you know, we have to look at our international commitments and what we have signed up to. Whether we like it or not, you know, we need to head off the huge fines that are coming at us. It would be unsustainable. You know, there was a budget passed here last week. And I will tell you this, folks, that budgets in years to come, if we don't do something about the fines for not reaching our climate targets, it is going to be astronomical. It will be a huge burden on farmers and taxpayers, you know, and that is who is going to pay it. There is nobody else to pay that. So we need more support there, and we need to diversify. And I would ask you as well, Deputy Minister Hayden, don't give up on the beat altogether. You know, there was attempts, and you know this, you met some of them, and I met, you know, there was different lobby groups, and there was groups of people, groups of farmers coming together, and groups of people from the agribusiness sector coming together. And you would have met them during the term of recent governments in terms of trying to get that back up the road again. And we need to be getting it back up and getting it up going again. But you won't, the income from beet alone and from sugar manufacturing alone won't do it. There has to be bioethanol, and there has to be other by-products. I mentioned the benefits for farmers in terms of beet pulp, in terms of beet tops, in the hungry month of January, when they are trying to feed cattle and there is no grass, and in terms of reducing the cost and sustainability, you know, for farmers to help them with sustainability. In terms of feedstuffs, the producers and the mills are churning out stuff, Minister, and, you know, it may have as little as 5%, 5% Irish grain in it. And I heard Deputy Aird saying that he buys Irish grain. And that is good that you are buying it. But what farmers are telling me, they can't guarantee that it is. And people in the mills, and people who are drawing the material to mills, tell me that it could be as low as 5%. And Deputy, or Minister Grealish, now as Minister for Food, I mean, that is really an issue. This is really an issue. A lot of this is GM produce. It is not produced to the same high standards as the crops in this state. And that is really, we have to have a level playing field, as long as, you know, along with quality as well. It is really, really important. According to Chagas, 19% of our potatoes is imported. Great cash crop, you know. And I understand, you know, with weather patterns and weather changes, that may be challenging. But, you know, a lot of the country, we have very, very dry, good dry land that can be used for that. Flour imports. During the last big freeze, we almost ran out of bread. You know, I think we had a four-day supply, a four-day supply of flour in the country. Imagine that, a country, you know, a state that used to grow and used to produce all its own flour. Flour mills all over the place, in Salins, in Portlaoise, great employment from the Ottombs family, in those industries. That is gone. You know, and we have left ourselves completely exposed to all of the volatility of the global markets. And we know what is going on globally. You know, we know what America is up to. You know, we know what is coming in, in terms of Mercosur, the difficulties that that may cause. So, I am not arguing for, you know, completely ring-fencing the country. But we have to start looking at sustainability. You know, we have to start just getting back to some basics. And we cannot be totally reliant, that heavily dependent on imports. So, I would ask you not to give up on beet. I think it needs to be looked at again. It was a great cash crop. Farmers welcomed that, the beet check, which generally came in December and January, and sometimes even in early February. So, in summary, we need realistic support for the tillage sector, and I include the horticultural sector in that, sector in that. We need trade recognition for genuine Irish produce. And we need to up the amount of grain that we are producing here, and produce that can be used for animal feed. And to be able to say that and certify that it is Irish. You know, it is not about putting barbed wire around the country or anything like that. We are obviously going to ask international trade. I recognise that. But we have become overly reliant on it. And, you know, when it has to be hauled from the far side of the world as well, it does make it more expensive. So, realistic support for the sector, trade recognition for genuine Irish produce, and a massive expansion for food and animal feed security. And this will help us reduce our carbon footprint and our carbon output per acre, but also provide cash for farmers. And I can tell you that farmers in Leish, you know, will step up to the plate. The ones I've met, you know, that have stuck with the tillage sector, you know, very, very lean, very, very lean pickings off it. We must help those farmers to stay there. We must grow the number of farmers that are involved in tillage. And I would ask you to, you know, to look at some of these areas again, and to give it dual recognition. Thank you.