The Official IFA thead

[Lecale2]

The IFA have submitted their budget submission for 2008. Here's a link to the full document.

http://www.ifa.ie/default.asp?com=ifa&org=&id=1&ACT=5&content=54&mnu=1

Some interesting proposals.

[Colonel Cool]

Is there more than one farmers organisation in the Free State?

[Silky]

Forty pc of farmers want less farming bodies

Tuesday October 09 2007


Almost 40pc of Irish farmers believe that there are too many farm organisations.


In a major survey carried out by Farming Independent, farmers were asked if they thought there were too many farm organisations in Ireland: 39.4pc of respondents said 'yes' and 60.6pc answered 'no'.

The survey of more than 1,000 farmers was conducted over the three day National Ploughing Championships.

Interestingly, dairy farmers were split down the middle on the issue, with 49pc saying there were too many organisations and 51pc saying no.

Just over 37.1pc of drystock farmers believed there were too many organisations and a little less than one-third of tillage farmers said they thought there were too many.

The group most satisfied with the status quo are farmers involved in 'other' sectors such as poultry or pig farming and retired farmers, with 78.9pc of these believing that there were not too many farm organisations.

"There's strength in unity and there should be only one voice," was a common comment from respondents.

Others felt that the more organisations there were speaking on their behalf the better.

Of those who felt there were too many organisations, 41.2pc said they felt the two biggest organisations, the IFA and the ICMSA, should merge. This merger would be the first choice of 47.7pc of dairy farmers, and 38.1pc of drystock farmers.

Only 10.9pc of farmers were in agreement with IFA joining up with Macra. Many voiced their opinion that Macra was important in its role as a representative body for young farmers and therefore should remain on its own.

Just over 5pc said ICMSA should join with ICSA, with twice this number (10pc) saying that IFA and ICSA should join. Of those polled, 32.6pc thought all the farming organisations should come together.

"There should be only one organisation acting as an umbrella group and then there should be different committees for the different commodities," one farmer said. However, even this farmer was in favour of keeping Macra separate.

One woman, who described herself as a farmer's spouse, said: "There are not enough organisations speaking up for the small farmer and this is what I would like to see."

Another farmer wondered if "any of them were of any good at all... they are only working to keep themselves in a job; it has very little to do with farmers at this stage," he said.

[Main Street]

I learnt all I know about farming from watching the Riordans.

[magickingdom]

any chance the price of wheat and barley comming back down?

[ziggysego]

Did anyone else think this thread was for something else?

[magickingdom]

now what would that be ziggy?

[stew]

Did anyone else think this thread was for something else?

I did, I thought that maybe the IFA threw another hundred quid at the FFA campaign, seeing how it is really going well and all.

[nifan]

Did anyone else think this thread was for something else?

I did, I thought that maybe the IFA threw another hundred quid at the FFA campaign, seeing how it is really going well and all.

Aye, keep ignoring the hard work many people have put in

[deiseach]

Did anyone else think this thread was for something else?

Not at all long. Viva Cowjak.

[Sky Blue]

A shower of crying bastards the lot of them! The single farm payment is a swindle on the tax payers of Europe. Why should these lazy crying bastards get paid for doing sweet FA?

[SouthArmaghBandit]

Fvo Report on Brazilian Beef Production - Brazil - serious problems


A scene from the 11th National Winter Fair 2007 at Kilkenny Livestock Mart, Cillin Hill

The long awaited report from the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) on their March mission to Brazil was published yesterday (Wednesday) as the Farmers Journal went to press. It found that serious inadequacies remain. FVO officials are currently in Brazil for a further inspection.

IFA President Padraig Walshe said the FVO had again found all of the shortcomings and deficiencies previously identified by the IFA/IFJ mission.

"Commissioner Kyprianou now has no option but to act on his commitment and impose a ban'', he said.

On two out of the nine farms visited by the FVO, the number of animals did not match the number on the register or on the SISBOV database.

The mission also highlighted that there are no routine checks carried out to verify cattle numbers present on the holding or their individual identification. The FVO found more animals registered in the SISBOV database than were actually present on the farm.

They also found that the quality of ear tags was inadequate. The individual identification was also illegible and a high percentage of the ear tags were lost.

Because aspects of the identification system were incorrectly implemented, the FVO called into question the reliability of the 40 day and 90 day residency policy used by the EU to implement regionalisation.

The FVO found that animals were being moved from a non-EU approved state to an EU approved state and sent for slaughter without respecting the 90 day residency.

In one meat plant, an animal was declared non-EU eligible but its meat formed part of a consignment of meat destined for the EU. This is a serious breach.

The FVO report found serious shortcomings in the vaccination procedure.

The report stated that no routine controls were being carried out by competent authority on holdings to ensure proper vaccination in some states.

The mission exposed that the vaccination programme, as recommended, was not being followed and thus the level of herd immunity might not be sufficient to protect against FMD. The FVO observed that the FMD virus is still circulating in parts of Mato Grosso Do Sul.

The FVO stated the absence of a programme to monitor the efficacy of vaccination in 2007 jeopardises the future certification of beef.

It was also noted "that actions taken in response to certain recommendations of previous reports'' (relating to public health systems) "were incomplete''.
The FVO concluded that no systematic audit system for animal health has been established either at state or central level.
The publication of the report has been welcomed by Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mary Coughlan, who said that it will be "very helpful in the overall process of ensuring equivalence.

Full analysis next week

[Blacksheep]

What would you pay for a milk quota in the south these days? Do the still have them?

[Silky]

So cheap halthy food is a bad thing now? 

Renewed IFA criticism of loss-leading sales
Wednesday, 6 February 2008 19:01

The Irish Farmers' Association has again criticised leading supermarkets for using food such as fruit and vegetables as a loss leader.

But supermarkets have reacted angrily to the claims.

The IFA says farmers are being exploited and bullied by supermarkets when special offers are made below the cost of production.

AdvertisementAt last week's AGM, the association said predatory prices by supermarkets were one of the biggest threats to farmers.

The IFA says such practices are endangering the remaining Irish potato, vegetable and fruit growers.

Now the IFA has accused four supermarkets of undermining the livelihoods of farmers - Tesco, Superquinn, Aldi and SuperValu.

It says food cannot be used as a loss leader for campaigns designed to entice consumers into supermarkets. While supermarkets maintain their margins, they say, discounts come straight from the farmer's pocket.

IFA President Padraig Walshe said glib advertising slogans, offering 'more for less' every day, are perpetrating a great deceit on the public.

He said the four main groups and the German discounters have a stranglehold on producers and co-ops, who are the real casualties in the wars between them for market share, while they hold onto their profit margins.

Mr Walshe said the weakness of producers and co-ops is epitomised by their fear of being de-listed should they have the temerity to seek a price increase.

But supermarkets and Retail Ireland have completely rejected the claims that farmers are getting a raw deal.

Aldi Stores (Ireland) says its special promotions are providing great value on fresh food to Irish customers, and Aldi is paying normal prices to its suppliers, including Irish farmers and processors with whom it has long-established relationships, for this produce.

Aldi says the cost of the promotion is not being borne by farmers or growers.

SuperValu and Centra have also said they are committed to ensuring farmers get a fair price.


Retail Ireland, the IBEC group that represents the Irish retail sector, has also rejected the IFA's allegations of predatory pricing as groundless.

'If the IFA have any evidence of predatory pricing they should bring it to the Competition Authority immediately',' Torlach Denihan, Director of Retail Ireland, said. 'The IFA ignores the consumer, but the retail sector cannot, as it depends on the consumer for its very existence.

'Retailers compete aggressively to bring best value to the Irish consumer and make no apology for this. The sector is proud of its efforts to secure value for its customers, notwithstanding the IFA perspective that this is something to be ashamed of.'

[Lecale2]

BBC are reporting that the National Farmers Union in England are opposed to Tesco's selling chickens for £1.99. What's the problem?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7230959.stm