At the Ploughing Championships this week I will be contacting Minister Creed to announce a package to aid cereal crop farmers who are in dire straits this harvest because of the poor weather. Some of the spring barley and oats is in such poor condition that it is gone back into the ground and as a result of the disastrous harvest there will be no straw gathered either. There are some farmers in the West and North West facing total devastation this harvest and unless something can be done for them many will face going out of business altogether.
I am calling on Minister Creed to put the Tillage Forum into action immediately and announce a package of measures to aid affected farmers. It is estimated that up to 40% of crops still have to be harvested in this region and the same situation exists around the country. I am calling on Minister Creed to act immediately to address this crisis in the tillage sector, The last thing we need is for tillage farmers to be going out of business and the time to act is now