Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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790. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures he has taken to support farmers facing difficulty with fodder supply over the winter months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45609/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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As I have previously outlined in this House I undertook a number of actions this year to ensure sufficient supplies of Fodder for the coming Winter and Spring 2019.

My priority throughout the year has been to support measures to assist in the conservation of as much fodder for the coming Winter as possible from within our own resources, and to supplement this with necessary imports as required. To this end I introduced a number of targeted measures including:

- a €2.75 million Fodder Production Incentive for Tillage Farmers to encourage tillage growers to actively engage in the fodder market and there has been positive engagement with this measure

- a €4.25 million Fodder Import Support Measure for Autumn 2018. The measure seeks to reduce the cost to farmers of imported forage. The measure operates through the Co-operatives/registered importers and will cover forage imported from 12th August 2018 to 31st December 2018.

In July I secured agreement from EU Commissioner Hogan to pay higher advance Pillar 1 and 2 payments which will be increased to 70% and 85% respectively. Almost €1 billion has been paid to farmers under Pillar 1 and 2 since mid September.

Following consultation with the EU Commission, my Department made some temporary adjustments to the GLAS scheme for this year which have the potential to add to the quantities of winter fodder available by bringing over 260,000 additional hectares into production. In addition, in consultation with my ministerial colleague Mr. Eoghan Murphy T.D., a two week extension of the closed period for the spreading of chemical and organic fertilisers was implemented that allowed farmers capitalise on autumn grass growth for fodder production.

Surveys of fodder supplies conducted on my behalf by Teagasc have shown a significant improvement in fodder availability with the national deficit moving from an estimated 18% shortage in early July to an 11% shortage in mid-September. Whilst there still remains a significant deficit on some farms I am hopeful that the results of a survey currently being finalised by Teagasc will show a further reduction in the national deficit given the favourable growing conditions of recent weeks.

I am confident that the range of measures introduced by me to date, taken together and targeted at producing as much fodder as possible from our own land, is the most effective response to ensuring adequate supplies ahead of the coming Winter. Notwithstanding all of the above mentioned actions, I can assure the Deputy that I will continue to closely monitor and engage on this significant challenge during the coming period.