Struggling farmers need support in budget amid rising costs - IFA

Farmers will need a range of measures in the budget to help them cope with serious financial pressure due to rising feed and fertiliser costs, according to the IFA.

IFA President Tim Cullinan said today’s CSO figures show the gap is widening between the cost of inputs and what farmers are getting. Output prices are struggling to keep pace with the surging price of inputs, the IFA says.

“For the first time this year, aggregate prices paid to farmers, particularly among the low-income drystock sectors, have fallen. This is at a time when inputs have risen nearly 40%. Fertiliser is up 133%; energy has risen 51% and feed costs are 34% higher,” he said.

The IFA President said farm businesses cannot continue to absorb the gap between the cost of producing food, and what they are paid.

Ahead of IFA’s pre-Budget meeting with Oireachtas members on Wednesday, he said the Government will have to bring forward a range of targeted measures in Budget ’23.

 “Given what lies ahead on energy prices, and the huge increases in other inputs, the farming sector will need support to keep its head above water. We have held meetings with Ministers Donohoe, McGrath and McConalogue to emphasise the very serious pressures that exist. IFA will reinforce the challenges at our briefing tomorrow,” Mr Cullinane said.

Latest figures from the CSO show that the costs being faced in agriculture continue to soar with fertiliser prices up 133.8% compared to last year and energy prices up by 51.3%. 

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) released Agricultural Price Indices July 2022 also shows feed prices are up 34.2% in the last 12 months.

The price of milk has risen by 51.1% in the year while cattle prices are up by 16% in the past year. 

These increases are reflected in the agricultural input price index which is up by 39.1% in the year from July 2021.

"Annually, the Agricultural Input Prices Index is up 39.1% while the Output Price Index is up 28.4%. The resulting annual change in the terms of trade was down 7.7%," Anthony Dawson, Statistician in the CSO prices division said.