Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

ICMSA say Commission preparing ‘Compo-Bribe’ to overcome French resistance to Mercosur Agreement

The President of ICMSA has said that the reports that the EU is preparing to ‘compensate’ French farmers in return for the French Government dropping its opposition to the Mercosur Agreement is profoundly worrying and actually represents an admission on the part of the Commission and its negotiators that the Agreement would specifically undermine the EU’s indigenous farming sector.  Speaking in response to reports on the highly regarded Politico website that the compensation package had already been raised with French officials, ICMSA President Denis Drennan said that the so-called ‘compensation package’ actually served as a bribe – and was intended to serve in that respect.

“It’s beyond disappointing that we have Commission officials dressing up what is plainly a bribe to the farmers of a certain Member State as a so-called ‘compensation package’. It’s nothing of the sort and everyone has to remember that long after the ‘sugar rush’ of this compensation package has been spent, what’s left of the EU’s indigenous farming community will be buried under cheap and environmentally destructive imports coming from these Mercosur South American States. This is a classic tactical ruse on the part of the EU Commission: take their own EU farmers to the brink of ruin with over-regulation and low margins, then offer them a temporary ‘fill-up’ through a one-off compensation package, pressurise them to take that financial aid while simultaneously negotiating with an external trading bloc to actually undermine your own farmers who are cowed into silence by having accepted the compo-bribe. The Commission is then able to hand access to the Mercosur markets to the EU Tech, Pharma and Financial sectors and get cheap food produced to lower standards for its consumers. It’s ‘win-win’ for them and ‘lose-lose’ for the EU farmers and anyone who wants to see the rainforests protected from the kind of insane clearances that South American farming is predicated on”, said Mr. Drennan.   

Mr. Drennan said that the single biggest disappointment in the debate around Mercosur was not the craven attitude of the Commission – farmers, he said, expected no more from that institution. What was more disappointing was the ‘deafening silence’ from our environmental lobby who seemed more fixated by whether an acre in Tipperary could support one or one-and-a-half cows then they were by the looming threat to the last hope for global carbon capture.

“Where are all the media commentators and ‘activists’ who are never off our airwaves objecting to a new slurry tank at the other end of the country? If Mercosur goes through – or is bribed through as these reports seem to indicate – then South American beef production will rise to meet that EU demand and that production will be at the expense of their forests and global climate stability, we know this because that is precisely the way that existing South American beef production has developed. The Irish Government must indicate that – even if the French ‘cover’ is withdrawn – that Ireland will absolutely not reduce its opposition to an agreement that is without any environmental merit at all and will signal the end of indigenous EU beef production probably forever”, he concluded.

Not to forget that the politicians pushing Mercosur in Brussels come from the EPP(FG is in there) and far right parties that were supposed to be the farmers best pals during the tractor protests last year and are very much in bed with IFA, Copa Cogeca etc, and other Big Ag reps across the EU

PS: Elements of the intensive livestock here and in other parts of the EU aren't doing themselves any favors either since the source of much of their Soya feed is coming from areas that are being hammered by deforestation across several South American countries, plus uncontrolled use of EU banned pesticides in its cultivation has been devastating for these environments too - https://eu.boell.org/en/PesticideAtlas-Brazil

Watch them, they will go down some night.

Hopefully that uploads. Still doing 2 milkings. Don't have to move any cows out of paddocks. Iv one lane basically disintegrated at furthest couple of paddocks this year. They won't move themselves on this when the weather gets **** .I had to leave a couple of paddocks. If it gets drier I'll get to walk cows along a ditch the other side.

When they start on silage it'll get abit more awkward. I'll probably only do one grazing and everything else in the shed.

i would have thought that cows at that level if not fed would be under a lot of pressure and as already said keep a eye on them

The only thing our politicans abd farm orgs want is an extension of derogation mainly to help big farmers look at the slurry extension .It is cleatly alowed to extend in exceptional nutrient uptake which was this year but it wasnt availed of and ifa didnt even ask.

agree on lot of that but ground is in savage order and savage growth last few weeks ….no harm in spreading slurry during those few weeks

What about the losses in january when its been poured out legally bad week of rain later i know where it ends up.Grass didnt grow here till may this year and its still growing now.

Some good points there KG.
However, just because the grass is growing doesn’t mean that it’s OK to spread slurry. Yes it indicates that there’s some uptake on nutrients..but that’s impossible to quantify, especially on a regional/national level. I’m aware that our N derogation is founded on the assumption that grass never stops growing, but a few kg/ha of grass growth doesn’t always justify the ‘right’ to spread. That’s essentially, imho, the nub of the issue. Teagasc et al have taken a position on this being the foundation of N derogation. However Europe sees results, not justifications. Unfortunately the results and the justifications don’t add up in reality.

A fortnight ago there were 4 well established Irish contractors (silage and slurry specialists) here on a bit of a busman’s holiday. They went to the heart of dairy country and followed a French contractor for a few days.
I asked what they learned… we’re nowhere near the same regulations!..there’s only 70 days a year where you can spread slurry!..constant paperwork!..etc etc, were the comments. Thing is, with all those regulations the watercourses are still in very poor shape.

And of course tillage.