Reassessments at the Ploughing

By Matt Dempsey

The Ploughing is a truly remarkable gathering place. At what other agricultural event are you able to bump into the Taoiseach and the Minister for Agriculture of the day as well as the Minister for Justice, other members of the cabinet as well as those in the junior ministerial ranks?

As the proportion of farmers in the population continues to decline and hopefully the rest of the economy continues to grow we need to keep the linkages between farming, agribusiness and the general political and economic establishment.

Long may the event continue. An excellent site, good traffic control and a decent law-abiding sector of the community meant that ministers and the Taoiseach could walk and mingle freely. There are aspects of life in Ireland for which we should be grateful.

But that said, the realities of the changes in farming are hitting home. The core is the long-term static price of all agricultural produce. Farmers are seeing management unions and the public sector, fully protected against inflation at a minimum, while their own increasing costs continuously bite into shrinking margins. Margins which dictate an ever declining standard of living if nothing fundamental is done, either within the farm business or outside it.

This week, the Economic and Social Research Institute released its own estimate that only 20% of farms were now solely reliant on farming for their income. This is how farmers are reacting in the current Irish environment - by rightly examining their options in the face of product price pressure and general societal expectations. The wonder is that so many are responding so positively. The Single Farm Payment for those with reasonable entitlements built up is going to provide a cushion while various options are considered - expansion, increased on-farm efficiency or slow withdrawal.

In our letters page we carry correspondence from Eamonn Healy on the cost of expanding in dairying. Jack Kennedy had touched on the issue in last week's Journal. The conclusion has to be that expansion is fully justified where fixed facilities are in place. But where they are not, the costs may well be prohibitive - especially if permanent extra labour is going to be needed.

The expansion route is going to require careful assessment, but it may well be an attractive option for committed beef and tillage operators where land rental charges will probably sharply decline.

For all farmers the new CAP regime is a true watershed. The general European post-war boom in overall agricultural production is well and truly over. This year's Ploughing Match was the first time farmers in general were able to compare notes and find that their problems were not unique to their own families. It is a universal dilemma. We are all searching for real solutions.