Selloo, Scotstown, Co Monaghan
Dairy and egg farmer David McCoy from Selloo, Scotstown, Co Monaghan, is pessimistic about the chances of a deal being reached.
“I’ll be surprised if there is an agreement and it looks like they will crash out with no agreement,” he says.
The prospect of a hard border would have a significant impact on his farm.
In the past we have exported slurry from this home farm with a lot of paperwork to Northern Ireland
“We have some land rented in Northern Ireland, just along the border, because it matches our own farm,” he says.
“It would certainly bring into question if we can continue to do what we are doing.
"We are only removing forage from the farm and there’s no livestock involved. But I don’t know if that will continue.
“In the past we have exported slurry from this home farm with a lot of paperwork to Northern Ireland.
"But I don’t know what the position will be as far as that is concerned. I haven’t received any guidance from the Department of Agriculture yet.”
He remembers the restrictions imposed by the previous hard border but believes they will not return.
“I can’t see that, unless there is an outbreak of terrorism,” he says.
“However, if there are price differences between one jurisdiction and another, there will be people who will take advantage.”
Drumins, Scotstown, Co Monaghan
Martin Corrigan farms about two miles from the border at Drumins, Scotstown, Co Monaghan.
They will have no other choice but to go with a customs union
He buys most of his meal and farm supplies for his dairy herd across the border in Northern Ireland so he crosses over and back on a regular basis.
“I think the British will pull out at the last hurdle,” he maintains.
“They will have no other choice but to go with a customs union.
“People around here don’t want to see the border closed. Our biggest worry is having no free movement. If that happened, it would slow everything up and there’s a big cross border trade around here.”
Pauric and Bernie Sherry produce dairy and eggs in Scotstown, Co Monaghan and od a lot of trading in Rosslea, over the border in Fermanagh.
Scotstown, Co Monaghan
Pauric and Bernie Sherry have a dairy and egg farm in Scotstown, Co Monaghan, just south of the border.
Both believe that, as things stand, a no-deal Brexit and a hard border are on the horizon. “It will be back to border controls and checks. You’d wish it wouldn’t come to that but it’s looking inevitable,” says Pauric.
“No agreement and what it brings, we’re not sure,” says Bernie.
“Our eggs are all sold in the south. Broken eggs go north, but that’s only a very small part of the business. There will be bigger implications for the dairy side – we just don’t know what’s coming. We need to know what the implications will be,” says Pauric.
I remember being stopped and having the boot checked
“We are three miles from the border and, like many of the farmers around here, we do a lot of trading in Rosslea, which is over the border in Fermanagh. Are we going to be checked every time we cross the border?”
Both recall vividly the border checks of the past.
Bernie comes from Emyvale, close to Derrycrow. “I remember being stopped and having the boot checked,” she says. “My first cousin Aidan McAnespie was shot on the border at Aughnacloy. God forbid we’d ever go back to that. It just doesn’t make sense.”
Read more
'We're doing four loads a day across the border' - LacPatrick lorry driver
Brexit border: farmer views from Northern Ireland
LacPatrick’s Brexit concerns
Farmers still in the dark over Brexit border
Selloo, Scotstown, Co Monaghan
Dairy and egg farmer David McCoy from Selloo, Scotstown, Co Monaghan, is pessimistic about the chances of a deal being reached.
“I’ll be surprised if there is an agreement and it looks like they will crash out with no agreement,” he says.
The prospect of a hard border would have a significant impact on his farm.
In the past we have exported slurry from this home farm with a lot of paperwork to Northern Ireland
“We have some land rented in Northern Ireland, just along the border, because it matches our own farm,” he says.
“It would certainly bring into question if we can continue to do what we are doing.
"We are only removing forage from the farm and there’s no livestock involved. But I don’t know if that will continue.
“In the past we have exported slurry from this home farm with a lot of paperwork to Northern Ireland.
"But I don’t know what the position will be as far as that is concerned. I haven’t received any guidance from the Department of Agriculture yet.”
He remembers the restrictions imposed by the previous hard border but believes they will not return.
“I can’t see that, unless there is an outbreak of terrorism,” he says.
“However, if there are price differences between one jurisdiction and another, there will be people who will take advantage.”
Drumins, Scotstown, Co Monaghan
Martin Corrigan farms about two miles from the border at Drumins, Scotstown, Co Monaghan.
They will have no other choice but to go with a customs union
He buys most of his meal and farm supplies for his dairy herd across the border in Northern Ireland so he crosses over and back on a regular basis.
“I think the British will pull out at the last hurdle,” he maintains.
“They will have no other choice but to go with a customs union.
“People around here don’t want to see the border closed. Our biggest worry is having no free movement. If that happened, it would slow everything up and there’s a big cross border trade around here.”
Pauric and Bernie Sherry produce dairy and eggs in Scotstown, Co Monaghan and od a lot of trading in Rosslea, over the border in Fermanagh.
Scotstown, Co Monaghan
Pauric and Bernie Sherry have a dairy and egg farm in Scotstown, Co Monaghan, just south of the border.
Both believe that, as things stand, a no-deal Brexit and a hard border are on the horizon. “It will be back to border controls and checks. You’d wish it wouldn’t come to that but it’s looking inevitable,” says Pauric.
“No agreement and what it brings, we’re not sure,” says Bernie.
“Our eggs are all sold in the south. Broken eggs go north, but that’s only a very small part of the business. There will be bigger implications for the dairy side – we just don’t know what’s coming. We need to know what the implications will be,” says Pauric.
I remember being stopped and having the boot checked
“We are three miles from the border and, like many of the farmers around here, we do a lot of trading in Rosslea, which is over the border in Fermanagh. Are we going to be checked every time we cross the border?”
Both recall vividly the border checks of the past.
Bernie comes from Emyvale, close to Derrycrow. “I remember being stopped and having the boot checked,” she says. “My first cousin Aidan McAnespie was shot on the border at Aughnacloy. God forbid we’d ever go back to that. It just doesn’t make sense.”
Read more
'We're doing four loads a day across the border' - LacPatrick lorry driver
Brexit border: farmer views from Northern Ireland
LacPatrick’s Brexit concerns
Farmers still in the dark over Brexit border
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