Macra will not stand for quotas in any farm enterprise

At the recent Food Vision Dairy group, the Department of Agriculture outlined three scenarios which it has modelled regarding the ‘Restricted Growth’ of the Dairy Sector in Ireland.

When the Vision group held its first meeting in early February, Macra na Feirme were adamant in calling out what materializes from the group is not a quota dressed up as something else.

Macra na Feirme national president John Keane said: “Irish farmers are world leaders in sustainable and secure food production systems. It is baffling to think that the Department are considering reintroducing quotas that will slow generational renewal even further, halt efficiency gains in the sector and leave farm families in vulnerable positions.”

In early February, Macra na Feirme called the move by the Minister to divide the farming sector as tactical, and stated that the future of the livestock sector should be looked at as a whole and not in isolation. Division of farmers and farming communities does nothing to serve the Irish rural people.

The Macra president went on to say: “This air of uncertainty needs clarification, since the news broke on the modelling done by the Department of Agriculture, countless farmers have contacted me worried about their future, their investment, and their family’s financial stability.

“The Minister must move to reassure these families that volume caps or herd restrictions will not be implemented or forced upon Irish farm families in any sector.

“With global demand growth for dairy products, it must be asked who has the Department of Agriculture identified as being better at producing sustainable dairy produce than Irish farm families?” concluded Keane.

(Pic: Clare Keogh) Dairy Farmer, Peter Hynes speaking with Martin Heydon, TD, Minister of State with responsibility for Research and Development, Farm Safety, and New Market Development and Aileen Spitere, Samaritans Ireland Deputy Regional Director and volunteer in Cork Samaritans at the launch of a new mental health campaign between Ireland’s milk co-operatives and suicide prevention charity Samaritans in Co Cork. The milk processors - who are all members of the Ibec group Dairy Industry Ireland (DII) – will feature Samaritans freephone number 116 123 on the side of over 500 vehicles, reaching farmers and other people across rural Ireland, especially those living or working in isolation.