Ireland has to reach a situation where farming is an attractive lifestyle and herd owners have a proper work-life balance, Doreen Corridan of Munster Cattle Breeding has said.

Speaking at the inaugural Ceres Network conference recently she said the lifestyle on farms needs to be extremely attractive, from the point of view of a good work-life balance and also from the point of view of profitability.

“We have to reach a situation where a herd owner working on a farm, [can sustain] a family and there is a good work-life balance.”

Listen to Doreen Corridan in our podcast below:

Corridan said herd owners need to decide what they want to produce and they need to be given the tools to produce food as efficiently and as profitably as possible.

“Technology can play a role in this, through smart ag and wearables for cows – which of those [options] are going to be the most economical and most useful and free up time?

“Also we’ve a huge amount of data, so how can we reduce the paperwork and help them in their daily lives with the most important decisions they make this week and this month?

“The last person a herd owner is thinking about is themselves. They’re thinking more about the animals and I think herd owners need to look at themselves and say where am I in all this? How good is my lifestyle? How good an environment am I giving my family?

“We need more collaboration with the industry to really help herd owners and to give them a better lifestyle.”

Also speaking at the CERES conference was Michael Hoey of Country Crest, who argued that Ireland's tillage sector should be supported. Listen to him in our podcast below:

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