Minister Must Deliver Three-Crop Rule Exemption
IFA National Grain Chair Kieran McEvoy said that Minister McConalogue must deliver an exemption to on the three-crop rule and crop diversification requirements for tillage farmers in 2024.
“I’m glad he has now confirmed that he is seeking an exemption from the rule. This must be secured as a matter of urgency,” he said. IFA Brussels will also be working on these issues.
The autumn of 2023 was very difficult nationally, Teagasc analysis estimates that 35,000 hectares less of winter arable crops were sown for harvest 2024 compared with 2023.
“It has been well documented that the supply of cereal seed is extremely finely balanced for this season. Many growers will have planned on establishing winter wheat varieties in the month of February; however, recent rainfall has made this impossible, this further highlights the need for flexibility in making cropping decisions on-farm,” Kieran McEvoy said.
An IFA delegation met with officials from the Crop Policy Division in DAFM at the end of January and sought flexibility from crop diversification requirements. The issues also raised by IFA President Francie Gorman at a recent meeting with the Minister for Agriculture.
“The situation is now more serious and DAFM must urgently seek approval from Brussels for a derogation to the GAEC 7 requirements of crop diversification and the three-crop rule,” the IFA National Grain Chair concluded.
