NI Single Farm Payment to fall by 9% in 2024 - UFU

According to Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) president David Brown, Northern Ireland's single farm payment budget will fall by 9% in 2024.

This is to facilitate funding of the new beef carbon reduction scheme, which started on 1 January.

He explained that the new measure would, in effect, provide a headage payment for cattle that meet certain age-at-slaughter criteria.

“In 2024, the target age is 30 months. However, this number will gradually decrease over the next four years, during which the target age will be reduced to 26 months,” he said.

“The money available will go to farmers who owned 60 cattle within the last 100 days of the herd. The union has been lobbying the measure in this way. UFU chief executive, Wesley Aston, told the meeting that £25m would be needed to fund the beef carbon reduction scheme in 2024.

"This is between 8.5% and 9% of the total farm support budget in Northern Ireland," Aston said.

The union anticipates that payments under the new measure will begin in late 2024.

Revolution

Turning to the wider issue of future farm support in Northern Ireland, David Brown confirmed that the UFU would lobby to increase the current £300 million annual budget.

“The figure of £300 million was established several years ago. Only inflation has reduced its value to farmers in real terms.

"So, it's time for the Westminster government to proactively address this issue," Brown said.

"The existing arrangements will remain in place until the end of the current parliamentary system," he continued.

"After that, we will see a completely different political landscape, especially if the Labor Party wins the next general election," he added.

The UFU president has indicated that farm support changes will start to flow in 2025 and beyond.

“The new suckler cow scheme is a case in point. Its introduction has been delayed due to the need to enact accompanying legislation,” he said.

"It would require the input of a sitting Stormont executive to make this happen."

Climate action

David Brown strongly suggests that the issue of climate change and the need to reduce the carbon footprint of agriculture across the UK, Ireland, and the rest of the EU is the only context in which agricultural support is currently being discussed.

“We have already seen the introduction of ecological land management schemes in England and Wales. “However, here in Northern Ireland, our previous Minister for Agriculture recognized the need to retain the productive capacity of agriculture.

"An out-working of this policy is the commitment made by the Department of Agriculture that it will not see any form of animal reduction scheme before 2027," he said.