At the annual Irish Grassland Association conference held in the Charleville Park Hotel, the topics of building a resilient family business, animal health and managing farm systems were all discussed, while implications from nitrates ruling was at the forefront of questions from the floor.
Also discussed was the competitive advantage of grass, why it is so important to the Irish dairy industry and how we can maintain resilience.
Tadgh Buckley of the Irish Farmers' Association spoke about expansion in the dairy industry and how it has been able to deliver under all three pillars of sustainability, while the nitrates derogation is the foundation of our competitive advantage which allows our grass-based system maximise pasture utilisation.
Potentially losing the nitrates derogation could lead to a shift in system, losing competitive advantage to other countries.
Future
Looking to the future, research by Fonterra predicts a 0.2% reduction in milk production in the next 10 years, mainly due to a reduction in cow numbers due to environmental policy.
Buckley says it is imperative that Ireland can maintain a nitrates derogation going forward, given how sustainable Irish dairy is across a range of categories. He says it is illogical to impose restrictions that will stifle its competitiveness.
Patrick Gowing of Teagasc alluded to the high-cost economy in Ireland. He compared a high-input system in Scotland to an Irish grass-based system.
In a high milk price year, a high-input system will make money, but when compared with a low milk price year, the grass-based system came out far greater.
This is due to the availability of by-products such as straw and concentrates in the UK, making them much more affordable. This reiterated the importance of utilising grass in Irish dairying.
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