Last week’s Sommet de l’Elevage show in France was an opportunity for a wide range of agri-merchants to showcase their products. The show is the largest livestock event in France, with over 85,000 visitors at the Zenith exhibition centre in Clermont.

Most of the trade stands exhibiting products are multi-national, with products on sale in Ireland. There was a good representation from Irish firms at the show, demonstrating that the exporting of Irish agricultural machinery is big business.

Keenan and McHale had large stands, backed up with a number of sales specialists and service engineers.

So what does it cost to buy products that are commonly used on Irish farms in France. Many farmers believe that machinery is too expensive in Ireland and that there is value to be had by sourcing outside of the country. But is there really value when you add on tax and import costs?

This week, we feature a number of products used on livestock farms in Ireland that were on sale at the Sommet de l’Elevage show.

The products featured are priced without VAT and there was some room for manoeuvring on price; that is if you have the language skills to negotiate.

This cattle crush from IAE, complete with squeeze function and fully accessible sides, is available in Ireland.

It is fully galvanised and comes with a non-slip floor and adjustable head-locking gate.

Price at the show was €3,500.

Calf rearing on dairy farms is carried out using feeders, similar to Ireland. This five-teat calf feeder holds 2.5 litres per compartment and was on sale in France for €195.

This galvanised calf creep, with a 2m feed hopper and calf pen, was a popular item, with several manufacturers selling similar versions. The feeder featured has adjustable entry bars and adjustable feet for stability. It also has three-point linkage attachments for ease of transport. The price was €1,100.

Mains electric fencing was common on livestock farms. But temporary fencing units were also in use. This 12-volt fencer can charge 40km of wire and was selling for €180.

This 14ft Ifor Williams triple axle livestock trailer, complete with calf divider gate, was on the market for €10,775, with 20% VAT to be added on top. A 12ft version of the trailer was €9,450 before tax.

This galvanised 2.5m lamb feeder was on sale for €340. It has three separate filling compartments, rather than one removable lid like in conventional feeders commonly found in Ireland. No wheels make moving it less practical in the field.

This mobile milking unit was on sale for €850 after 20% off. These units come in handy on a number of occasions when milk needs to be excluded from the bulk tank. The unit has 30-litre tank capacity, which is fully galvanised.

This 3m feed barrier from Cosnet, with five head-locking gates, was on sale for €460. Similar products from Jourdain ranged from €400 to €500 for five- and six-space head-locking gates.

This galvanised sheep weighbridge, complete with weigh scale, was on sale for €800. The bridge has a movable side for a squeeze effective for smaller lambs.

Concrete slats are not as common in France as in Ireland. But dairy farms are becoming more and more intensive and slatted housing is increasing in popularity.

These 12ft concrete slats were priced at €200 to €220 each.

Galvanised sheep hurdles are a big seller in France for similar reasons to Ireland. Temporary lambing pens that can be set up and removed easily make good use of existing farm buildings and allow for working with sheep at grass. These 2m hurdles were priced at €38.