Vol. 498 No. 3
94 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason farmers with suckler cows who incurred fodder losses have been excluded from the fodder aid package due to the fact they have no quota and therefore no premia applications; and the number of farmers nationwide in these circumstances excluded from the package. [27073/98]
The fodder scheme is directed at all sheep farmers with mountain grazings and suckler cow producers and small dairy farmers, with milk quotas of less than 35,000 gallons, in district electoral divisions — DEDs — in the worst affected areas based on a Teagasc survey completed in September. All farmers meeting the criteria of the scheme in the selected DEDs are included together with all sheep farmers with mountain grazings as per the sheep headage scheme. No precise data is readily available on the number of suckler cow producers without quota. However, over 31,000 suckler cow producers are included which represents the vast majority of those in the worst affected areas identified.
