Perhaps the structure of farming in Ireland might not be as it is today if we did not have traditional interdependency among farmers, their neighbours and the other enterprises.

The threshing set depended on big number of locals to help. So did hay making before balers and even the early days of silage depended on a lot of men with forks to keep the edges tidy to minimise waste.

The specialisation of farm enterprises in recent decades has served to minimise this interdependency. Yet, when we look at the major constraints in farming today, the lack of productivity is evident in many tillage fields due to the worn nature of the ground. This is happening while other farmers are dependent on an organic nitrogen level derogation. This has to be based on a fragile premise given the increased nitrate and phosphorus levels in our rivers.

Pig and poultry farmers also face constraints on the use of their organic by-products. Is access to land the only solution to be considered when two farmers could be better off if that sought to find a common solution? Renting expensive land just to have surface area on which to say slurry is being spread does not provide a long-term solution to any problem.

Last season ignited an increased awareness of the essential contribution of tillage farming to the workings of agriculture. It provided the flexibility to grow increased areas of specialist fodder crops like maize and fodder beet for those who said they needed it. And after harvest tillage farmers sowed over 23,000ha of autumn fodder crops to help alleviate a fodder problem. While the weather provided a reprieve through grass growth, who has considered what the situation might have been if that grass did not grow and if the winter of 2018/19 was more akin to that of 2017/18?

Fodder crops

Whether or not tillage farmers would consider doing the same again is now a real question. Once grass began to grow in September some livestock farmers walked away from the option. This reaction does not lend itself to an attitude of cooperation for the good of farming.

Farmers working together provide a greater potential to react to such problems and these are not all in the past. Scarce or expensive resources include labour, machinery and land. Independence and competition result in increased cost and isolation. But one thing is certain, the potential for cooperation cannot be a one-way street.

We must not be too blind to see the benefits of what happened in 2018. There was additional money to plant fodder crops, and this undoubtedly helped especially where the fodder crisis was worst. It’s not so easy to say whether it was income positive or income negative, but it was real cash.

Many growers are already saying that they would not repeat the exercise but we must be open-minded enough to evaluate the relative performance of crops which follow these fodder crops.

A reasonable yield kick in 2019 crops following a catch/cover crops would signal the possibility of repeating the process, even if only to incorporate the organic matter. While it is not advisable to cause serious poaching damage on worn tillage land, land that is in good heart can recover quicker.

While the concept of co-operation is alien to many farmers, the benefits are potentially too big to ignore. Grass is a very useful rotational crop but are livestock farmers willing to swop land for two or more years in exchange for weed control, reseeding and the alleviation of the pressures of nitrates?

Some farmers have ongoing arrangements for the production of maize under a contract system developed by Teagasc and the trade. This has worked well because it provides protection for all parties involved. A similar arrangement is possible with fodder beet but there were growers of fodder beet who found the crop very difficult to sell as the fodder crisis lessened.

It is perhaps ironic that grain is now the least valued output from tillage farms. Yet without a market for grain there will be no straw and no land on which to spread slurry or manure from either the pig, poultry or dairy sectors. While straw was expensive in 2018, questions are being asked about how animals are being treated and slats are not regarded by some consumers as five-star luxury for animals. The more we choose to ignore the relevance of all farming sectors and public scrutiny, the more we will become subject to increased scrutiny from consumers.

Farmers working together must mean benefits for all involved. There are examples of this from around the country but there is scope for much more. Who would consider a straw for nutrient swop? The greater the level of interdependency the greater the will to make it happen.