| IFA President John Bryan will today (3rd September) visit a number of farms in Cavan and Monaghan and meet with IFA members this afternoon in the Kilmore Hotel in Cavan.
John Bryan is using the opportunity to highlight the potential job losses which may occur if Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith and his Government colleagues do not make significant changes in the implementation of an environmental regulation called “the nitrates regulation”.
The counties of Cavan and Monaghan will be particularly badly affected because the region has the largest share of the national pig herd and poultry population. To safeguard the thousands of jobs in farming, processing and distribution in the region IFA is clearly calling for the delivery of three key measures in the current review of the nitrates regulation:
· To maintain the current phosphorous provision and remove the restriction on growth for pig and poultry farmers.
· The removal of calendar farming, to allow farmers farm based on suitable ground and grass growing conditions, as advised by Teagasc and Met Eireann.
· The continuation of the nitrates derogation for the dairy and livestock farmers, to provide a platform for growth and development.
The delivery of these measures are very important if the region is to deliver the full growth potential identified in the Government’s strategy for the sector, Food Harvest 2020.
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Friday, 03 September 2010 11:18