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DEAR SIR: Grass is obviously the best way to feed dairy and beef animals but a year like this shows how vulnerable this system is when farmers can’t control grass growth. New Zealand has irrigation systems to grow grass. New Zealand style dairy that have excessively large dairy herds won’t work in Ireland.
I think the people pushing the agenda of large scale dairy units need to be realistic on herd size. Dairy herds of less than 100 dairy cows are more realistic as a dairy model for a lot of farmers. The state agricultural agency has openly said that there are 400,000 less beef cattle in Ireland than there were in the 1990s. The suckler cow policy seems to be against giving suckler cow payments because of concerns about emissions and a surge in suckler herd numbers. The question that has to be asked is, where is the dairy industry going?
Is it dairy farms with hundreds and dare I say 1,000 cow plus herds. Also dairy farmers are taking a huge financial gamble in producing milk - the least milk co-ops can do is provide credit and low cost finance. Also the dairy industry needs to do more to deal with emissions and the dry stock industry cannot be targeted for emission saving schemes such as growing trees.
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