At the meeting, the minister outlined his support for the sector – one of the most carbon-efficient in Irish agriculture – as well as his ambition to grow the tillage area, as set out in Food Vision 2030 and in the Climate Action Plan 2023 with a target tillage area of 400,000 hectares by 2030. “The tillage sector plays a very important role in contributing to our food and feed security. It is a major contributor of high-quality grain to the animal feed industry and straw for feeding and bedding. It also makes a significant contribution to the food and drinks sector, a sector that is going from strength to strength.” The minister said he was ‘acutely aware’ of the current concerns among tillage growers with lower grain prices and high input costs combined with difficult weather conditions that impacted on autumn and spring sowing.
Chair, Matt Dempsey said Ireland has the capacity to produce high yields of high-quality tillage crops for a wide variety of uses. “Setting clear targets and recommending policies to increase output given the high level of imports in the sector is the primary objective of this Food Vision Tillage Group,” he said. The minister has tasked the group with providing a detailed plan and recommendations by the end of July with a final plan to be submitted during the final quarter of 2023.
Commenting after the meeting, the Irish Farmers’ Association National Grain Committee chair, Kieran McEvoy, said a more structured, collaborative approach will be needed, with input from all stakeholders, if the tillage area is to reach the target of 400,000ha by 2030.
“The 2023 cropping year was always set to be financially challenging for tillage farming, with high input costs and declining global grain prices. But changes in the nitrates rules have completely disrupted the land market, leading to very significant increases in land rental costs. This has added further pressure on the long-term viability of many growers. It is now almost certain that the area under tillage will decline this year, when it needs to be going the other way,” said Kieran McEvoy.
“It’s essential that the Tillage Vision Group meets regularly over the coming weeks and months to identify and construct ambitious proposals to prevent the tillage sector lapsing back to the dangerously small area of 2017/2018,” he said.
While he acknowledged the assistance of the protein aid and straw incorporation schemes, he said more will be needed to reach the target set down.