Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Farmers are under immense pressure at the moment. The prospect of having to reduce their herd could well mean the end for them. Many farmers in west Cork have come to me in recent months and I will give one farmer's example. This farmer farms with his wife and two young sons. They milk 75 cows on a fragmented and average-quality farm to the best of their ability. They have invested heavily in infrastructure to ensure more than adequate slurry storage and excellent infrastructure for the animals. This is spread using a trailing shoe only when they are allowed. They test the soil on the farm regularly and use fertiliser to match these results. They are good farmers, complying with every rule thrown at them. They have been advised that new rules will reduce their herd by 19%, but will allow low-yielding herds, predominantly larger herds, to increase by 11.5% on the same farm. If this goes ahead, it will cripple this farm family financially. I ask the Minister to assure this family that these new rules will not go ahead as proposed because if they do, they will wipe out dozens of hard-working farmers in west Cork and throughout the country.

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