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Fodder Supplies 2024

At the National Fodder and Food Security Committee (NFFSC) meeting in July Teagasc advised farmers to do a fodder budget and take action to secure fodder stocks. On 8 August they said that the next few weeks are critical to take opportunities to grow as much grass and conserve as much winter feed as possible on farms. Teagasc is running a campaign around fodder budgeting, fertiliser application and securing fodder and straw. All of the details are available here and a helpful one page fodder and fertiliser advice here.

Temporary Drivers Hours Derogation

IGFA has been working with ICOS and IFMBA to call for a temporary derogation to driver hours to deal with the weather situation. The Department announced on Friday 19 April that a derogation had been agreed and will apply for a period 14 days from 22nd April 2024 to 5th May 2024. See the RSA notice here.

The following provisions will be temporarily relaxed:

Derogation to Article 6(3) of Regulation 561/2006: the fortnightly driving limit is lifted from 90 hours to 100 hours.
Derogation to Article 8(4) of the Regulation 561/2006: the maximum reduced daily rest periods between any 2 weekly rest periods is lifted from 3 to 4.
Derogation to Article 8(6) of Regulation 561/2006: the rules relating to weekly rest are being relaxed by allowing drivers to take a reduced weekly rest of at least 24 hours in each consecutive week during the relaxation period. There will be no obligation on a driver to take at least one regular weekly rest period in any 2 consecutive weeks until the derogation expires. Furthermore, there will not be any requirement for compensation where reduced weekly rest is being taken.

IGFA consultation response to electricity tariffs

Read here response from the Irish Grain and Feed Association (IGFA) to the CRU Consultation Paper on proposed structural changes to Electricity Network Tariffs to apply from 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2023.

IGFA meeting with An Tanaiste

IGFA representatives met with An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, Minister of State Martin Heydon and Senator Maria Byrne on 22 June 2022. The aim of the meeting was to highlight the challenges faced by the Irish Animal Feed Industry and specifically the costs of doing business in our sector. These costs do not just have a significant impact of IGFA members, but knock-on effects further up the food chain. Our concerns were discussed under 3 agenda items. Read briefing here.

Feed market impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had a huge impact on global feed material markets. The Ukraine and Russia are major suppliers of maize, wheat, barley, rapeseed, beet pulp and sunflower oil. The Ukraine alone supplies 9.2 million tonnes of maize to the EU (57% of EU imports). In Ireland, we imported a total tonnage of 119,269MT of maize in March 2021 and 86,460T (73%) came from The Ukraine. These exports typically take place through the spring into the early summer. For further info see our briefing documents.

Download briefings here

Boeing–Airbus dispute between the EU and the US

The Boeing–Airbus dispute between the EU and the US has been ongoing for 16 years. In November 2020, EU member states gave the green light to proceed with the publication of a list of products originating in the US that would be subject to duties. This EU retaliation means that products on Annex 1 of Regulation 2020/1646 will have an additional 15% duty and those on Annex II, a 25% duty. Read more here.

Covid 19

Deirdre Webb, Director of the IGFA has reiterated that Irish farmers can continue to rely on their animal feed suppliers who are working around the clock. She said “March is always a busy month but this year we are dealing with a whole range of new challenges. We are pleased that we are continuing to fulfil all our obligations to our customers and are confident that we will continue to provide an excellent service. For more information see IGFA News Release Monday 30 March 2020 and IGFA News Release Thursday 19 March 2020.

BREXIT

Clarification on labelling of feed exports to Great Britian

Under retained EU law, manufacturers of feed products that are exported to GB must have a representative established in GB. This short IGFA briefing document provides more details see here

DAFM held Brexit webinars for IGFA members on 21 Feb 2021

The presentations and videos are available to download here.

Presentations

Paul Vickers – Importing animal feed from outside the EU
Eva Gethings – Medicated Feed
Justin Byrne – Animal by-products
Ruth Sanders – Veterinary controls
John Higgins – Product of animal origin, hay & straw
Ray Ryan – Rules of Origin

Videos

Paul Vickers – How to import animal feed from outside the EU in post Brexit era
Eva Gethings – Watch this short six minute video on how to import medicated feed from UK after Brexit
Justin Byrne – How to import animal by-products (ABPs) from outside the EU since Brexit
Ruth Sanders – Six-minute explainer on the official veterinary controls needed for import of animal feed
John Higgins – How to import products of animal origin, including hay and straw – after Brexit
Ray Ryan – Rules of Origin explainer from Revenue.
A Q & A was also provided by DAFM.

McGuinness tells IGFA on Brexit: “Prepare for change”

First Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mairead McGuinness MEP, joined the IGFA Feed Committee on 2 September 2020 to discuss concerns about the impact of Brexit on the sector and the progress of negotiations between the EU and the UK. With the continued uncertainty and so many details still unclear, feed businesses across the country are struggling to plan and prepare for the potential impacts of Brexit. Read more here.

IGFA meeting with the Joint Committee on Agriculture and the Marine

14 December 2020 IGFA welcomed the opportunity to discuss Brexit and its impact on the Agri-Food Industry with the Joint Committee on Agriculture and the Marine. The IGFA position on Brexit has been consistent since 2016. Our members believe that frictionless trade with the UK is absolutely vital for the Irish Feed Industry. We therefore need a trade agreement between the EU and UK that is free of tariffs, quotas and any other measures that will disrupt or add costs to feed supply chains. Read more here or view video here.