The decision by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to seek to suspend the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) for 2024 is totally at odds with the stated Government objective to increase tillage area into the future.

The decision will act to further erode confidence amongst cereal producers according to Tillage Industry Ireland as the SIM was seen by growers as a real support, both for soil carbon improvement and for farm income.

The group which is made up of merchants, input suppliers in the tillage industry and the IFA, said that the flexibility in the current scheme to take parcels out of the measure could have been tweaked further to more easily remove parcels if there was local demand for that straw.

It makes infinitely more sense to facilitate the removal of parcels for chopping where a real need is identified rather than to act to suspend the scheme.

TII noted that this decision has come as harvesting is already underway and parcels have already been chopped and incorporated on the basis that payment would be forthcoming, as was the case in recent years.

Many more growers now find themselves in limbo as they wait for a European Commission response to the Minister’s request to suspend the scheme.

Industry players also noted that the financial incentive offered by the SIM was instrumental in helping to keep crop area up this spring, in spite of the late planting season.

TII stated: “Like many other groups represented at the Food Vision Tillage Group, TII representatives committed a lot of time to the development of that report and this decision effectively undermines all of those efforts and there is still no sign of alternative supports to help compensate for low yields last year, the difficulties generated by adverse weather or the reduction in EU supports arising from the new CAP and convergence.”

The TII statement said: “The Minister had said he wanted to support the tillage sector, but the proposal to suspend the SIM this week is being seen by tillage farmers as a very negative move following a year which has been one of the worst on record for the sector and where this year’s crops have been hit with poor growing weather, low yield forecasts and intolerably low grain prices.”

“A more appropriate response might be to continue to support the chopping of oaten and wheaten straw, which are in much less demand, plus oilseed rape haulm rather than suspending the scheme. It is unfair that a support scheme be withdrawn from tillage farmers to support poor planning in other sectors,” TII stated.