IFA: Excess regulation hits forestry replanting
Chairman of the IFA Farm Forestry Committee Vincent Nally addressed the issue of frustration with the levels of regulation when he addressed a workshop entitled Future Forests last week.
The procedures are beset with a complicated regulatory framework and have become the greatest obstacle to the entire sector including the licensing system and the obligation to replant. If these issues are not addressed, the plans for engaging in forestry, which are highly pertinent to Ireland’s commitments towards climate change, will simply fall by the wayside.
The government must listen to what farmers are saying and adopt the reforms of the regulations that will allow landowners to return to planting and managing their tree crops, he said. No other country in Europe has a régime as restrictive as Ireland does, an assessment conducted by the IFA revealed.
Patience needed as silage season starts
The results of the sunny days in April are now bearing fruit as the silage season begins all over the country and the chairman of the ICMSA in Kerry, David Diggins, has made a call on all road users to exercise patience when moving about the countryside.
There will, as usual, be a large increase in the levels of heavy traffic in the next month as farmers cut and prepare the feed for their animals. The restrictions imposed by the campaign to shake off Covid-19 has seen a great many people take to the roads to walk or cycle with the gyms closed and he appealed to these sectors to be aware that there is going to be a substantial increase in tractors and trailers sharing the roads with them in the coming weeks.
There could be a particular difficulty with regard to the wearing of headphones and being unable to hear approaching traffic, he warned.