DEAR SIR:

John Egerton’s article in the Irish Farmers Journal dated 26 March 2016 was a well thought out piece, which I am sure strikes a chord with a large proportion of our red meat farming community. John is just stating what a great number of our farmers probably also feel. But is it right that within the food supply chain, there are many who are achieving a comfortable living, and some who have amassed large sums of money, while the farmer has to resign him/herself to a low income. I would question if this has to be so. When we attend an agricultural show we will find there many people who can have a good livelihood supplying products to farmers. Similarly, those who we sell to further along the food supply chain are rewarded financially. Why not the primary producer? Farmers are regarded as price takers, who have little or no control over the prices they receive for their produce or pay for their inputs. However, I do not feel that this has to be the case and indeed two decades ago I experienced a group of farmers who were able to make a significant difference to their situation by coming together to form a trading group. While there are quite a number of farmer groups around today, there are very few which fulfil the criteria for financial success – namely a significant rise in the farm income through group purchasing and selling. Are there those who are willing to take up the challenge?