Tag Archives: ICMSA

SINN Féin will set out its stall as to what dairy farmers can expect from any future government involving the party, when its leader addresses ICMSA members in Limerick next week.  On December 5 at the Castletroy Park Hotel in Limerick, Deputy Mary Lou McDonald will become the first Sinn Féin leader to address a major farmer meeting and ICMSA officials say that her take on the future of Ireland’s biggest indigenous economic activity will be eagerly anticipated. The Agriculture Minister, Charlie McConalogue will be in attendance too to address farmers’ concerns over forthcoming regulatory changes for the sector.  Farmers, including the many from Clare who are likely to travel to the event, will also hear from Assistant Garda Commissioner, Paula Hillman. She will address the increasingly fraught issue of gangs of trespassing ‘hunters’ intimidating, threatening and even assaulting farmers in their own yards or fields. ICMSA has been to the forefront in demanding a much more effective and practical …

TRESPASSING on farm land across the county is generating concern, now that the season has opened for hunting.  The ICMSA is seeking an urgent meeting with the Minister for Justice on what it has described as “the growing countrywide problem of gangs trespassing farmland on the pretext of hunting and the levels of intimidation and threat associated with this activity”. In Clare, ICMSA County Chair Martin McMahon said the problem has increased since open season begin on November 1.  “Having people with packs of dogs coming onto farm land is a very big problem,” he said. “Dogs are driving cattle mad and they’ll break through every fence to get away from them. Often, the farmer doesn’t know the cattle are out until they get a call and they could be out on the road at that stage. Farmers have to have public liability insurance in that case because there’s such a risk.” ICMSA headquarters described themselves as “deluged with complaints” …

DESPAIRING farmers are struggling to bear the brunt of rising costs, an East Clare dairy organisation representative has said. Clare Chair of the ICMSA, Martin McMahon has condemned a lack of action on the part of the government to address the issue. The O’Callaghan’s Mills man said farmers “are on the point of despair” waiting for measures to offset rocketing fertiliser costs. Mr McMahon pointed out that it is now two months since Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue indicated that consideration would be being given to some form of financial aid to farmers who have been hit by a quadrupling of fertiliser costs. He said the government’s passivity on the matter made a very stark contrast to the urgency shown by other EU member states, with notably less developed agri-sectors. Referring to Poland’s announcement, in recent weeks, that the European Commission had approved of a €836 million subsidy scheme for farmers under the State aid Temporary Crisis Framework, the well-known farmer’s …

SILAGE season is underway, despite the less-than-ideal weather conditions. As agricultural traffic increases over the next four weeks, an O’Callaghan’s Mills farming representative has appealed to all road users to take care. Veteran Clare ICMSA spokesperson, Martin McMahon, has asked the users of rural roads to exercise patience and awareness. He noted that the large numbers of people still using rural roads for walking and cycling exercise in the absence of gyms or sports club training might be taken unawares by the large increase in tractor and trailer volumes. Mr McMahon expressed specific concern that the people using headphones while walking or cycling were being misled about the proximity of large machinery. Mr McMahon also asked farmers and contractors engaged in silage work to be extra careful this year in view of the increased numbers of people cycling or walking. He asked them to pull in, where possible, and allow any build-up of traffic to pass. “It is incumbent upon …

FARMING representative organisations in Clare have given a cautious welcome to Budget 2021, while voicing reservations over the fairness of the an increase of almost 2c per litre in the price of agri-diesel. An increase of €7.50 per tonne of carbon came into effect last Tuesday night, adding 1.937c the cost of a litre of green diesel. The measure takes the total carbon tax on agri-diesel to almost 9c per litre. Said Cratloe’s Eddie Punch, General Secretary of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA), “The carbon tax is an environmental measure when there is a viable alternative to agri-diesel. When there’s no realistic alternative, it becomes just another tax, and it’s unfair.” Tom Lane, Clare County Chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), agreed the measure is unjust in the view of his members. “There is no viable alternative to agri-diesel on the market currently,” he said. “We understand the pressure to reduce emissions and when you look …

CLARE Marts have confirmed that its facilities will continue operations under Level 3 pandemic restrictions. The Department of Agriculture had indicated that marts are designated as an essential service, but suggested some may have some of their operating procedures adjusted to take account of the new national restrictions. Martin McNamara, general manager of Clare Marts noted that since re-opening of marts in early June, huge efforts had been made to adhere to national public health guidelines and to facilitate on-line sales to reduce the number of people attending in person. He also expressed the hope that the move to Level 3 would make it easier to enforce the regulations. “The move to Level 3 shouldn’t make any great difference,” he said. “The rules are already being strictly enforced with social distancing, masks, sanitisers and so on. The bottom line is, though, that people won’t be allowed in if they have no business at the mart, because numbers are restricted until …

FARMERS in the Burren are said to be in “dire straits” after almost three months with virtually no rainfall. Despite the thundery downpours experienced in recent days across Clare, much of the north of the county has escaped, with drought-like conditions posing challenges for farmers. “It will be 13 weeks from the Spring Equinox to the Summer Solstice this weekend,” noted Burren IFA Chairman Michael Davoren. “In my lifetime, I haven’t seen a three month spell without rain. There’s been a slow drought since early Spring, which has badly hit the winterages. The wells and the springs of the Burren are in danger of running dry at this stage.” Mr Davoren estimated that grass growth is down between 30 and 40%, with some farmers having to use sileage to feed their cattle. “It threatened to rain at the weekend, but there wasn’t a drop. The winterages need a good dousing. The rain will come eventually,” he said, “but you can’t …

DAIRY farmers across Clare are hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst as peak milk production coincides with the predicted spike in the Covid-19 crisis. In recent days, milk suppliers have been warned by Dairy Industry Ireland (DII) that if the Coronavirus causes the closure of processing plants the impact for the sector could be devastating. Responding to the stark warning, Martin McMahon, Clare Chairperson of ICMSA, said the situation was as major cause for concern. “If any of the milk plants are hit by the virus, and the risk is very real, that would present huge problems for farmers at this time of the year,” he said. “All possible precautions must be taken to protect lorry men and the staff at the dairy plants, for the sake of their own health and for the whole sector. If farmers were forced to reduce their milk volumes, the pressure would be huge. All famers, whether they’re in dairy or …