€1.5m crop crisis fund agreed after farmers were hit by harsh weather

A €1.5m crop crisis fund has opened after lengthy negotiations with tillage farmers left devastated by last year's severe crop losses.

Cereal farmers had staged a six-day sit-in at the Department of Agriculture offices over the initial upper limits of €5,000 proposed for the fund.

Agriculture Minister Michael Creed said cereal farmers had experienced severe losses following the wet harvest conditions last September.

He pointed out there was always a "will to support these farmers", but the challenge was to find a way that ensured support was focused and targeted at those most impacted.

Farmers will get a contribution from the crop loss support measure towards the cost of spring cereal crop losses in excess of 30pc based on yields.

A payment rate will apply of €200 a hectare up to 35ha to deliver up to €7,000. However, a further €100/ha will be available where farmers lost half their crops, which brings the full payment up to €10,500.

To prove the losses farmers will have to provide evidence of sales from 2013 to 2016 to highlight the drop-off in income before August 25.

The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) had estimated that more than 250 farmers had experienced grain losses of €3m, with straw pushing this up to almost €4m.

The worst affected were in counties Clare, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Mayo, Meath, Roscommon and Tipperary.

IFA president Joe Healy said it was vital to get the scheme up and running as soon as possible. It comes as Teagasc figures show lower yields and lower prices last year led to a drop in the gross margins on farms. However, there has been a slight spike in prices this year, driven by concerns over a drought in the wheat-growing areas of the US hampering crops.