Economic fallout a ‘real worry’
A hectic time of year on the farm may make social distancing easier for farmers, but they have other headaches to contend with in this Covid-19 crisis.
That’s the view of Rathnew-based full-time farmer, Angus Woods who is a former chairperson of the IFA National Livestock Committee. He said the farming sector is facing a range of problems including Brexit, even if these particular issues are not currently to the forefront of people’s minds.
Speaking to this paper, he said, ‘I think for a lot of farmers, social distancing at this time of the year is not an issue because they’re so busy planting, sowing and lambing. The economic fallout is the real worry. Anything that affects consumer sentiment or impacts on consumption such as people losing their jobs will also have a knock-on effect on the market.’
Covid-19 may present an immediate crisis for farmers, but ‘ lurking behind it, there’s still Brexit. It may be overshadowed at the moment, but the whole thing looks unstable and concerning.’
The closure of restaurants around Ireland and the UK is a ‘ hammer blow’ for beef farmers and increased retail demand is unlikely to bridge the gap, according to Angus.
‘Steak is a more valuable cut for farmers... I think increased retail demand from supermarkets was partly driven by panic buying. Take McDonalds, around one in every five of their burgers across Europe using Irish beef so they are a hugely important player in the market.’
Last week, McDonalds announced it was closing its restaurants across Ireland and the UK for the foreseeable future. A study released by the fast-food retailer last year stated that it purchased around €1.2 million in produce from suppliers in the Garden County in 2017, contributing €196 million to the Irish economy that year.
But, it doesn’t just the closure of restaurants and fast-food chains that is a worry for beef farmers.
‘ This is the time of year when prices should be rising so any falls now is a disaster, especially for those who were keeping cattle over the winter to sell at this time. After a period of market slippage, this is a really bad blow for winter finishers. For dairy farmers, they have been calving and we’re hitting the peak period of production so it’s not a good time for the market to be interfered with.’
Mr Wood argued that the Government and the EU need to increase supports for farmers.
‘ The Government and the EU need to step in. We hear about the EU’s crisis management tools and now there is a crisis in the EU market. They could activate the safeguard clause in the trade agreement with South America and implement the EU crisis fund for farmers. Things can be done to alleviate the financial pressure on farmers. The sector was under pressure from Brexit, the CAP reform package and Covid-19 is another concern for farmers.’