Debate contribution: Upland Sheep Farmers: Support

Debate contribution by Ms Emma Sheerin on 25 November 2024.

MLA

Ms Emma Sheerin

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

25 November 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Upland Sheep Farmers: Support

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4675113

Read the official Assembly record

Text

It will come as no surprise to anybody listening to the debate that I am definitely in support of upland sheep farmers, being, as I am, the daughter of one. I was reared on a sheep farm in the Sperrins, so I have a particular interest in the motion and the topic, and I feel that supporting our sheep producers is the right thing to do. It is about equality and addressing needs. It is about identifying the particular challenges that different sectors face and trying to support those people through those challenges. The challenges faced by our sheep producers in upland areas are many and varied. The most obvious one at the minute is the loss of the single farm payment following our removal from the EU. When we talk about the lack of ring-fencing for agriculture subsidies — there is an expectation that the Executive will secure those moneys for farmers next year, and I believe that all Executive parties are committed to trying to do that — we have to acknowledge the fact that we used to have that money coming directly from the EU. We had that security of funding, but that has gone. There is pressure on all Ministers to work together to support farmers by providing the subsidies that we have lost as a result of the decision to leave the EU. I know that the Minister has committed to trying to ring-fence that budget, but it is a massive pressure and it will be a massive pressure. There is a particular worry and concern among our sheep producers, who face a 17% reduction in what we still refer to as the "single farm payment". We know that the agri-food industry in the North is worth about £5 billion. That money does not just support farmers; that money goes into our rural communities to support people like me who were reared in farming families but also our machinery dealers, vets, mechanics and engineering firms. It supports people who work in farm-related businesses, such as dealers of agri-medicine and feed, all of whom are vital to rural economies. We have to consider that. Farming on the uplands and in the hills is more expensive and tougher. Those farmers face tougher climates, and they work with lower-quality soil. Producing silage and hay is incredibly difficult in any year, but, for many farmers, in a year like this one it was impossible. For somebody who has reared sheep for years, it is not simple to start a beef herd, because it costs an awful lot to do that. The Minister has already said that he is not minded to reintroduce the areas of natural constraint (ANC) payment, which was brought about by my party colleague, Michelle O'Neill when she was the AERA Minister. The ANC payment was a lifeline for many of our upland farmers. Those people cannot easily diversify. Cattle numbers on the hills are reducing year on year, but those that are on the hills are inside from September, going through meal and silage at an alarming rate. That is costly and impacts on our environment. We know that sheep on the hills better the environment: they feed into biodiversity and carbon sequestration and are not as damaging to the environment as more intensive farming practices. We have to think about what we want. We want to support the farmers; we want to support a type of food production that is healthy; and we want to support affordable, high-quality food. We heard our former butcher talk about the standard of Irish lamb. That is something with which I, as the daughter of a sheep farmer, concur.

I will, thank you.

I thank the Minister for his intervention. He is 100% right. That is another pressure point for our local sheep farmers, who now face imports of New Zealand lamb, which, I would argue, is of a lesser standard than locally produced lamb. As well as that, we rely on our export market. The ramifications of Brexit are that we will be in bother with veterinary agreements and other challenges that are coming our way due to the standards that the UK will pursue. That is another challenge that our local farmers have to consider. We also see the imposition of bluetongue and the risk that that poses for sheep farmers in the hills. Lung disease is much less talked about but causes massive fear for local farmers as it can wipe out a flock in one go and at an alarming rate. Those are all problems that our local sheep producers have to face, and there is an onus on us all to protect local sheep farming and support the people who make our rural economy tick.

792 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:40 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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