Farmers could be offered another emergency animal food transport scheme to help at a “time of stress”, but such a Government intervention may not be introduced until the spring of 2027. Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon said he was “absolutely open to” introducing another Fodder Transport Support Measure similar to the €2.1 million fund that was made available two years ago to help cover the cost of moving animal feed from farms in the country that had a surplus to those who needed it. But Heydon said that given such a scheme had historically “worked well in spring”, it may suit farmers to wait until after Christmas for such an intervention. Heydon met Irish Farmers Association president Francie Gorman this week over concerns about fuel and fertiliser costs facing farmers. On Friday, the National Fodder and Food Security Committee will meet to consider what measures could be introduced to support farmers. The committee, which is chaired by dairy farmer and former chairman of Animal Health Ireland Mike Magan, includes farming representative groups, co-ops and banks. In 2024, farmers in some parts of the country faced a shortage of grass growth following a period of heavy rainfall. That prompted the government to introduce the Fodder Transport Support Measure. The IFA has raised concerns that a period of hot and dry weather this year has had a similar impact on grass growth levels. Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland programme on Thursday, Heydon said “diminished grass growth levels” had led to grass growing at only 10 per cent of the normal rate in the east and 25 per cent of the normal rate in the south. “This is something that’s going to have to be managed until next spring,” he said. “And farmers know that. Farmers are very resilient. They amend and adapt their farming practices in many ways.” He singled out the fodder transport support scheme, which he said he was “absolutely open to, and not dismissing as a potential intervention”. But he added that such an intervention had “historically ... worked well in the spring”. The Minister said farmers in the west and north of the country who would normally tend to have a surplus at this time of the year would have to wait until after Christmas and into the new year to know how to manage their stocks of feed. The IFA have also called on Heydon to consider making the maximum possible contribution to the EU Fertiliser Action Plan, which would mean the Government would add just over €30 million to the €15 million emergency fund the EU has already offered to Ireland. The scheme offers direct aid to farmers to help with the rising costs of fertiliser, which has gone up as the conflict in the Middle East has had a disproportionate effect on the price and availability of nitrogen. Heydon said a greater Government contribution to the fertiliser aid scheme was “something that I would like to be able to do and to support as part of my ongoing budget negotiations”.“But the truth is that in those areas of constrained growth right now, farmers aren’t spreading chemical fertiliser, and they shouldn’t be,” Heydon said, adding that “it wouldn’t be the right thing to do to be spreading chemical fertiliser on ground that is in such moisture deficit right now because of the impact that could have on water quality and beyond.”