Susan Maher, who is from a farming background, studied Agricultural Science at UCD.

Today she puts her agricultural background to good use working as an agricultural development manager with Bank of Ireland. Her job is to support farmers and help them secure structured agri-finance loans from the Bank of Ireland branch network.

“I bring a common sense approach when it comes to structuring farm finance. I’m well aware of the risks of borrowing and adopt a practical approach. Farmers are price takers and cost acceptors and any farm cash flow needs to take account of this,” says Susan. Her approach to dealing with customers is very much hands on.

“There is rarely a day when I am not out on farm with my wellies walking land, looking at stock and facilities with a farmer before number crunching at the kitchen table. This is where the discussion generally takes place on assessing the viability of the business and this is where our expertise as agri specialists comes in.”

An important factor for Susan and Bank of Ireland is that farmers understand their accounts and basic cost base. It also helps when a farming enterprise is well run and well presented as it creates an excellent first impression.

“Farms need to be adequately capitalised so it’s my job to ensure that finances are structured properly from day one. Often times when a farmer is experiencing cashflow difficulties it is not because they are over-borrowed but because borrowings are incorrectly structured.”

“The return on capital from farming is low. Only very few farmers can carry more than 20% of the value of total assets in borrowings. Repayment capacity continues to be the single most important element when assessing farm finance and it is not linked to their asset base.”

Susan is confident about the future and believes we are entering an exciting period for Irish agriculture with huge potential for growth.