The appalling lack of summer in Fermanagh has spurred councillors to ask the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) to press government to request weather aid from the European Commission.

    All councillors fell in behind the Ulster Unionist Notice of Motion, proposed by Councillor Tom Elliott, to push for help for the farming fraternity. The notice of motion also called for DARD to initiate immediate measures within their control in an attempt to sustain the local agricultural industry and particularly secure the existence of family-run farms.

    There was less support from Unionist benches for an amendment, which was also passed by the Council, which sought an all-Ireland approach to farming. Proposed by SDLP Councillor Frank Britton it stated that the Council believed that the future of farming here is best secured on an all-Ireland basis and called on DARD in Belfast and the Department of Agriculture in Dublin to create an all-Ireland agriculture policy and support structure. Councillor Elliott expressed his disappointment at the motion being “politicised”. He said co-operation happened all the time and he had no problem with that but an all-Ireland policy was fraught with difficulties.

    The farmers are not crying wolf this year, said Councillor Elliott. He said farmers were concerned about the on-going crisis they were encountering as well as the question hanging over their heads about their future.

    BSE, foot-and-mouth, the unfavourable exchange rate between sterling and the euro, low product prices and disastrous weather conditions — the litany of problems facing the farmer was addressed by Councillor Elliott.

    In particular he drew attention to the low product prices farmers were getting. For milk, in 1986, the base price was 16 p a litre. In 1994/95 it had risen from 26 p to 30 p a litre while last month it was under 15 p a litre. There has been a reduction of 50 per cent over those intervening years.

    Beef has reduced in price by over 60 per cent between 1995/96 and today. “That cannot be sustained for the farming industry,” he said.

    A beef animal makes £500 at the abbatoir but costs £1,500 to the housewife, he said. There is £1,000 in profit in the food chain and it is not going to the farmer, he said.

    The bad weather has caused lengthy delays in silage making and a doubling of meal usage. “Surely if ever there was a case for the government to press for EU weather aid, it is this year. It is disappointing that the UK government has rejected that,” he said.

    The Department of Agriculture has 3,621 staff, who administer Northern Ireland’s 29, 818 farms. There is one member of staff for every eight farmers costing £101 million. That amounts to £3,387 per farm, Councillor Elliott said.

    The farmer gets 15 p a litre for milk while it retails at 55 p, said Councillor Harold Andrews, who seconded the motion. “There is no outlook for farming at present. The number of people under 35 in farming is six per cent in Northern Ireland at the moment,” he said.

    Councillor Bert Johnston has written to Mrs. Brid Rodgers, pushing the case for weather aid. “Serious problems have been greatly intensified by the extremely wet weather conditions experienced this summer season when many farmers have been unable to secure winter feeds from the land and their financial position has been worsened by having to buy feed stuffs at a great cost. Some farmers see a very bleak future in the hopeless situation they now find themselves in,” he wrote.

    Councillor Stephen Huggett referred to the low morale suffered by farmers.

    The conference in Johannesburg in South Africa would not bring any good news to farmers, said Councillor Raymond Ferguson. The discussion about admitting more products from the third world into the European Union will have an impact on farmers. “I do not know any farmer who does not have a second income coming in,” he said.

    British policies work against us in agriculture, said Councillor Gerry McHugh. Consumers must make sure that beef is sourced here and not packaged here but sourced in Brazil, he said. Councillor Bertie Kerr pointed to the drop in price for product. The morning of the Council meeting he had received £443 for a 282 kilogram heifer whereas a heifer of 306 kilograms in 1995 made £758.

    Councillor Cecil Noble also spoke of how the stress was affecting farmers in his area. He said that he had six sons, but advised all of them not to get into farming.

    At the meeting 12 voted that Councillor Britton’s amendment should be added to the motion, while five voted against. As the substantive motion, 14 voted in favour and no-one voted against. The entire motion read: This Council is deeply concerned at the continued recession within the agricultural industry which has been intensified by this year’s continued poor weather conditions. This is especially evident in County Fermanagh due to the county’s high dependence on the small and moderate sized family-run farms.

    This Council calls on DARD to show their support for local farmers by pressing Government to request weather aid from the European Commission. DARD should also initiate immediate measures within their control in an attempt to sustain the local agricultural industry and particularly to secure the existence of family run farms.