More education around succession planning and increased tax incentives to encourage land mobility are the keys to increasing both the mobility and productivity from Irish land.

That was the message from a conference on farm succession and inheritance run by Teagasc/RDS this week.

Teagasc director Gerry Boyle said we have to break down the emotional attachment as progress is not about a change of ownership but ensuring land – our national resource – is farmed productively.

With agri colleges full and over 6,000 young farmers applying for young farmer top-ups, the opportunity to address the rapidly ageing farming population was identified.

Starting succession planning earlier and encouraging a move to a phased transfer by introducing a new scheme in the next budget was seen as critical.

Collaborative farming

The move to improve the land leased incentives were welcomed, but Austin Finn of Land Mobility Service said it should not be the only option as many older farmers still want an active role in farming. There were calls to prioritise collaborative farming system such as share-milking and partnerships to give young farmers more opportunities.