A recent report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations summed it up well.

“Humans have developed highly efficient food systems – great for society but challenging for farmers seeking a fair profit,” the report said.

“Political tools like intervention, quotas and subsidies have tried to support production or protect prices but these are usually short lived.

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“Ultimately growers must compete at global prices,” it said.

But in truth some are not short lived.

The Canadian price of milk under its supply management system is, give or take, €0.60/l ex-farm while, at the other extreme, the price of a tonne of wheat to an Indian farmer is approximately €300/t.

No wonder US President Donald Trump has both countries in his sights.

Bull calf price

With the diversion of Chinese purchasing to Brazil, American grain farmers are hurting badly, but direct cash and lots of it is on the way from Washington DC.

US dairy farmers on the other hand gain from cheap grain and are increasing output rapidly and dragging down world and Irish prices as they expand output and delay culling cows to gain from extra milk but especially from record prices for Holstein bull calves.

I was astonished to hear at the recent excellent Barnett Hall conference that prices for these Holstein bull calves had gone from around $10 a few years ago to almost $900 in today’s market.

A valid question is what would these calves be worth if US beef farmers did not have access to growth hormones such as the beta-agonists Fenaplix, Synovex and Ralgro.

These are giving extra weight gain and superior conformation.

Some are completely undetectable in the final carcase and it still hasn’t been explained to me how we can avoid importing meat under the Mercusor agreement that could have been produced using these products that are so clearly outlawed in Europe.

Reform

We are facing into a fundamental reform of the CAP and while the policy has just recently been subjected to a fundamental review by a German academic, the new fundamental shifts in world trade patterns that have occurred under Trump have not been addressed.

Now is the time for the Irish Government – in advance of it assuming the EU presidency at a critical time – to initiate a serious discussion on what the CAP should look like.

The Fischler/MacSharry reforms were for a different time and have served their purpose.

It’s time for a rethink.