Bessbrook, Co Armagh
“There’s a lot of fear over a hard border but I don’t think it will become a reality. I don’t think it would benefit anyone north or south,” says Darren McCormick from Bessbrook.
“Hopefully there will be a smooth transition post-Brexit. I think men are quietly confident that things will be sorted out and that we will move on.”
He is confident the cross-border movement of maize and slurry will continue.
We have moved on a long way since 20 to 30 years ago, and no one wants to see us go back to that era
“There are a lot of intensive dairy units up here and there’s a lot of slurry coming from those units. If there’s a need for that slurry in the south, and all the proper procedures are followed, I don’t see why there would be an issue,” he says.
Likewise, he cannot see customs posts becoming a reality.
“We have moved on a long way since 20 to 30 years ago, and no one wants to see us go back to that era,” says Darren. “I can’t see any problems regarding retail or trade or investment for that matter.”
However, he does worry about a potential influx of cheap imports from other parts of the world. “Everyone produces to a very high standard here and I would like to see that maintained for any goods that are imported,” he says.
Bessbrook, Co Armagh
Ivor McElroy says he has no idea how Brexit will affect farmers.
“The people at the helm don’t know. How would I know?” he asks.
I would be worried about cheap food coming in
“There probably will be difficulties as long as there is a border. It will lead to more paperwork, probably finance difficulties, I don’t know.”
He is worried about his basic payment and potential competition from other countries. “We can’t do without it [basic payment] but no one has said it’s the housewife that’s being subsidised, not us at all,” he says. “I would be worried about cheap food coming in.”
"We don’t want a hard border, but equally we don’t want a border down the Irish Sea either," says David Livingstone from Bessbrook, Co Armagh.
Dairy farmer, Bessbrook, Co Armagh
David Livingston supplies milk to LacPatrick from his farm in Bessbrook, Co Armagh.
“I don’t think anyone knows what’s going to happen. Hopefully there will be a deal and no hard border, because we need to get our exports across to the south, we need to get the milk across and that also works vice-versa I’m sure,” he says.
His milk crosses the border to the Republic for processing. He is unsure what Brexit will mean for his produce.
My payment is guaranteed to 2022. It’s a different ball game after that
“It’s hard to know. Lakeland, which is taking over LacPatrick, has creameries north and south and hopefully that will help to limit any consequences,” he says.
The future for his farm payments under the CAP is also uncertain.
“My payment is guaranteed to 2022. It’s a different ball game after that,” says Livingston. “The British government is talking about linking it to environmental measures so I’m not sure what will happen. Hopefully, we will still get a payment and that there’s not too much of a drop.”
He is concerned about the impact a hard border could have on sectors other than dairy too.
“We don’t want a hard border, but equally we don’t want a border down the Irish Sea either. A lot of our beef goes to the rest of the UK and we need to get our exports over there.”
Paul King says there is a lot of scaremongering about Brexit.
Bessbrook, Co Armagh
Paul King from Bessbrook believes the Brexit border challenge will be dealt with.
“There’s a lot of scaremongering going on,” he says.
“Will your milk be able to cross over or will it not? I don’t see an issue. There’s too much at stake and they have to sort it out.
"Milk will have to go back and forth seamlessly, I think. I haven’t heard any farmer say anything different.”
Read more
'We're doing four loads a day across the border' - LacPatrick lorry driver
Brexit border: farmer views from the Republic
LacPatrick’s Brexit concerns
Farmers still in the dark over Brexit border
Bessbrook, Co Armagh
“There’s a lot of fear over a hard border but I don’t think it will become a reality. I don’t think it would benefit anyone north or south,” says Darren McCormick from Bessbrook.
“Hopefully there will be a smooth transition post-Brexit. I think men are quietly confident that things will be sorted out and that we will move on.”
He is confident the cross-border movement of maize and slurry will continue.
We have moved on a long way since 20 to 30 years ago, and no one wants to see us go back to that era
“There are a lot of intensive dairy units up here and there’s a lot of slurry coming from those units. If there’s a need for that slurry in the south, and all the proper procedures are followed, I don’t see why there would be an issue,” he says.
Likewise, he cannot see customs posts becoming a reality.
“We have moved on a long way since 20 to 30 years ago, and no one wants to see us go back to that era,” says Darren. “I can’t see any problems regarding retail or trade or investment for that matter.”
However, he does worry about a potential influx of cheap imports from other parts of the world. “Everyone produces to a very high standard here and I would like to see that maintained for any goods that are imported,” he says.
Bessbrook, Co Armagh
Ivor McElroy says he has no idea how Brexit will affect farmers.
“The people at the helm don’t know. How would I know?” he asks.
I would be worried about cheap food coming in
“There probably will be difficulties as long as there is a border. It will lead to more paperwork, probably finance difficulties, I don’t know.”
He is worried about his basic payment and potential competition from other countries. “We can’t do without it [basic payment] but no one has said it’s the housewife that’s being subsidised, not us at all,” he says. “I would be worried about cheap food coming in.”
"We don’t want a hard border, but equally we don’t want a border down the Irish Sea either," says David Livingstone from Bessbrook, Co Armagh.
Dairy farmer, Bessbrook, Co Armagh
David Livingston supplies milk to LacPatrick from his farm in Bessbrook, Co Armagh.
“I don’t think anyone knows what’s going to happen. Hopefully there will be a deal and no hard border, because we need to get our exports across to the south, we need to get the milk across and that also works vice-versa I’m sure,” he says.
His milk crosses the border to the Republic for processing. He is unsure what Brexit will mean for his produce.
My payment is guaranteed to 2022. It’s a different ball game after that
“It’s hard to know. Lakeland, which is taking over LacPatrick, has creameries north and south and hopefully that will help to limit any consequences,” he says.
The future for his farm payments under the CAP is also uncertain.
“My payment is guaranteed to 2022. It’s a different ball game after that,” says Livingston. “The British government is talking about linking it to environmental measures so I’m not sure what will happen. Hopefully, we will still get a payment and that there’s not too much of a drop.”
He is concerned about the impact a hard border could have on sectors other than dairy too.
“We don’t want a hard border, but equally we don’t want a border down the Irish Sea either. A lot of our beef goes to the rest of the UK and we need to get our exports over there.”
Paul King says there is a lot of scaremongering about Brexit.
Bessbrook, Co Armagh
Paul King from Bessbrook believes the Brexit border challenge will be dealt with.
“There’s a lot of scaremongering going on,” he says.
“Will your milk be able to cross over or will it not? I don’t see an issue. There’s too much at stake and they have to sort it out.
"Milk will have to go back and forth seamlessly, I think. I haven’t heard any farmer say anything different.”
Read more
'We're doing four loads a day across the border' - LacPatrick lorry driver
Brexit border: farmer views from the Republic
LacPatrick’s Brexit concerns
Farmers still in the dark over Brexit border
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