Tillage Sector Needs Urgent Government Support – IFA

IFA Grain Chair Kieran McEvoy said the IFA National Grain Committee is very concerned about the sentiments and trends in global grain markets and the impact this will have on the future viability of the Irish tillage sector.

“At current indicative grain harvest prices, the majority of farmers are facing a loss-making scenario, and these losses could be very substantial for growers exposed to rented or leased land. Despite the favourable harvest weather, morale amongst tillage farmers is close to an all-time low,” Kieran McEvoy said.

“Native, Irish grain prices are being undermined by cheap imports of feedstuffs from outside the EU. These imports are subject to much lower production standards and regulations around the use of plant protection products and genetically modified seeds. The playing pitch has never been so unlevel,” he said.

“Tillage farmers accept that Ireland is unable to produce enough grain to meet its requirements on an annual basis. However, despite this, growers and merchants are often left carrying over native Irish grain in stores into the next cycle which completely defies logic.”

“Sourcing additional feed supplies on a least cost formulation basis is a race to the bottom. Increasingly, it appears that some large feed mills have no interest in sourcing any native grain for their products,” the IFA Grain Chair added.

“Government support is unquestionably needed to ensure tillage farming remains a viable sector. That is why IFA have campaigned for a €65m- €250/ha tillage survival plan to be introduced by this Government,” Kieran McEvoy said.

“IFA has made this a key priority in the pre-budget campaign. IFA had some success in securing €100 per hectare funding for the tillage sector last year.”

“However, I recently attended the IFA pre budget meeting with the Minister and his officials. The Minister also addressed a Kildare IFA meeting recently and, on both occasions, guarantees on another tillage support package were far from forthcoming.”

“However, support from Government, while vital, will on its own not be sufficient to secure the future of the Irish tillage sector. We need greater support from the wider agricultural sector, our mills and our fellow farmers,” Kieran McEvoy concluded.

In the run up to Budget 2026, IFA officers around the country will continue to lobby hard at a national and local level for a tillage support package.