Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for their presentations.

There are places in the country where large numbers of cattle do not see grass because they are housed in sheds. Is that sustainable? Slurry is being exported to arable farms. Is that the way we should be farming in Ireland? It appears that there is a monopoly in certain sectors, with a large number of cattle that can be wheeled out during the year. When farmers come to the market with their cattle, prices have been distorted.

It cannot be sustained. That issue needs to be addressed immediately because what is going on is not natural. A lot of farmers are moving towards zero grazing, about which I have specific questions. Butterfat levels are better in Jersey cattle, but there is a major problem with Jersey bull calves. How are we going to address it? The stocking rate on some farms has fallen because of zero grazing. Does that issue need to be looked at? I come from a farming background and we had average land. There are limits. We are going too high in the numbers of farmers moving towards zero grazing.

Are our guests from the dairy side concerned that in some parts of the country there are certain conglomerates or groups that are buying up large tracts of land and getting into dairy farming with 600 or 1,000 cows? This practice is not widespread, but it is happening. Is it a concern? If milk prices were to get bad, some of these groups might not be able to withstand their borrowings. Is that a concern?

On forestry, the reality is that there are places in the country where farmers are not allowed to cut. It was a bad investment because the State is now stopping farmers from cutting forestry because the National Parks and Wildlife Service has written about it. I want it to be known that farmers are being stopped from cutting forestry in designated areas.

Farmers make reports on trimming and the grading of cattle. Mr. Morrison spoke well about grading. We are at a stage where a picture of nearly anything can be taken with a mobile phone. We should be able to show every farmer every part of his or her farm, with the different visuals that can be taken. We are still dealing with the cover up that is ongoing. In the past, when sheep or cattle were killed, one you could walk along and look at them. Now one has to look through a window and from a distance.

I understand the average amount of land held by an applicant for the single farm payment is approximately 32 ha. We can talk until the cows come home, but nobody involved in business is paid for something he or she did 20 years ago; he or she never did and never should. Under the single farm payment scheme, farmers are being paid on the amount of cattle they had in 2000, 2001 or 2002. The figure has been adjusted and modified a little since but by damn all, to be quite honest.

We must address the shortage of young farmers. I have a young son and daughter at home who would give me the two fingers if I was to tell them they would receive a single farm payment of €4,000 or €5,000. They would be gone. Unless we get young farmers onto an average payment of more than €20,000, between the environmental single farm payment and either the suckler cow payment or the sheep premium, we are going nowhere in keeping youngsters on the land. The proposals made suggest it will be 2027 or 2028 before we haul back in the big figures.

There is potential in exporting. We all need to work together on the capacity problem at Cherbourg. If I am involved in business, I have to go nd find a place for my cattle. Licences and other items are required, but for the next year we need to work together to address the problem or we will be in the same trouble again.

I am concerned about suckler cow farmers because everyone is talking about getting out of the sector. The area from the top of County Donegal to County Clare, across the River Suck towards County Longford, is huge, in which the main concentration is on suckler cow farming, although it also includes some dairy farmers.

If farmers get out of sucker cow farming, what will be left? Is what is being done being done by design to make the west the theme park of the country? I worry about that.

Mr. Woods referred to payments where lands were designated. He is 100% correct. The exporters who appeared before the committee will state, rightly or wrongly, that Bord Bia is not emphasising live exports as much as the factory set-up. There has to be a good live trade to have a good dead trade. A balance must be kept.