The Dealer hears that a group of dairy farmers from the west of Ireland are lining up to lease a large land block in Roscommon.

My understanding is that the long-term plan is to lease the land, build a dairy farm and supply Aurivo. Landowners in the area such as the Bailey brothers have been considering their options for a number of years. Aurivo has been exploring options to better utilise land around its Ballaghadereen plant as it has plenty of milk processing capacity and the sheep in the hinterland won’t fill it. After a competitive process I understand the boys from the west have first dibs on the land block so it’s down to sorting out the nitty gritty now.

I hear some large land blocks that can hold upwards of 300 cow units have also come up for lease or re-lease. New farmers have been sought for Mount Mellary farm near Lismore and also part of the Lismore Castle Estate.