An exclusion of some dairy farmers from the new, Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) in the new year would be completely unacceptable, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) dairy chair Stephen Arthur has said.
The IFA told Agriland, that it understands a proposal which would see dairy farmers with more than 120 cows ineligible to receive TAMS funding for milking parlours “is under consideration”.
Agriland contacted the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) for confirmation on this, however, no statement was provided.
Arthur said that any potential exclusion of dairy farmers would be “very concerning” and that he could see “no justification” for it.
“Based on reports, it seems that the department will prevent any dairy farmer with over 120 cows from applying for TAMS funding for new milking facilities from 2023.
“It makes no sense that the sector of Irish agriculture with the highest percentage of viable farmers is being singled out and prevented from getting grant aid to invest in their farm businesses,” he added.
Arthur said that to block these farmers from financial support mechanisms would have a knock on effect for labour and energy efficiency on farm, as these are “two of the main reasons a farmer may wish to put in a new milking parlour”.
“Farmers investing in new milking facilities are doing so to make their farms more sustainable.
“It does not make sense to arbitrarily set a cow number and exclude all farmers over this.
“Many dairy farmers with over 120 cows have a number of family members involved, be they partners, parents, sons, daughters or siblings,” Arthur added.
He called for the rejection of any such proposal and asked Minister McConalogue and his department to recognise that such a move would be unjust.
“It’s completely unfair and sends the completely wrong message to the hard-working dairy farm families across the country,” the chairperson concluded.
The new TAMS is due to open in January 2023 and will then be known as the On Farm Capital Investment Scheme (OFCIS). It is also set to have a particular focus on certain areas including investments in organics, farm safety and sustainability.
