There are plenty of examples of well-run farms around NI where the owner is nearing retirement and there is little prospect of a son or daughter coming home to take over the business.
In theory, these farms offer an attractive option for someone from outside the family to enter into some form of farm partnership or share farming arrangement.
But despite long running efforts to encourage these types of agreements, it isn’t something which has gained a lot of traction in the countryside.
There are varied reasons for that and the lack of some form of tax incentive (as exists in the Republic of Ireland) does not help.
However, it is also the case that only a relatively small number of farms in NI have sufficient scale to provide an income for both the land owner and the new farm partner.
Alternative
There is also an easy alternative for a retiring farmer and that is to let their land in conacre.
In the past, farm owners might have been concerned about the upkeep of fences or a fear that a tenant might gradually drain fertility from the land.
But with the increase in fully housed dairy systems as well as feedstock required for anaerobic digestion facilities, there is no shortage of people who just want land for silage or crops – there is no need to worry about stock breaking out or land being badly poached in the autumn.
NAP
The direction of travel as set out in the Nutrients Action Programme (NAP) is towards lower stocking rates on intensive farms, so the pressure to secure conacre will only intensify, thereby making the prospect of any share farming arrangements even more remote.
In a similar vein, changes driven by NAP have the potential to impact other sectors such as beef, sheep or arable, who simply are not generating sufficient margins to pay high prices for conacre.
Some might argue that a dairy farm could simply cut back on stock numbers to stay within future rules.
However, given the investment necessary to run these businesses, many are not in a position to send fewer litres down the lane.
