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Recently, we had the privilege to host a group of dairy farmers from Iceland who were in Belfast for a weekend break.
When hosting visitors from abroad, I think it is very important to make as good an impression as possible of our country. I also always view these occasions as a two-way street where I can learn as much from visitors as hopefully they can from me.
Iceland is a very different place to here, with a population of only 340,000, long winters that come with only a few hours of daylight, and long summer days with almost continual daylight.
However, as dairy farmers we share many of the same concerns and challenges. To name but a few of the topics discussed; environmental regulations, weather, milk price, the anti-dairy lobby and Brexit were common concerns to us all.
In Iceland, the average farm production is around 260,000 litres from approximately 45 cows. One farmer told me that 35 cows kept him and his wife but with his son planning to return home to farm they would have to expand to 65 cows.
Milk is paid for on the basis of milk solids (A + B pricing) and price is around 63p/l, but 30% of this comes in the form of a government subsidy.
Among the group, there seemed to be a level of uncertainty around subsidies. They are entering a period whereby payments will transfer from being production-linked, to an area-based payment with environmental regulations built in. The fear is that those regulations become a stick to beat farmers. It all sounds very familiar.
When queried on farm size and being able to live off 35 cows, it struck me that these farmers are focused on having a good work-to-life balance, and that is something we often ignore in NI. It also emerged that some farms have other income streams. Given that tourism and fishing were the two biggest industries in Iceland, farmers have been able to capitalise on this. One farmer told me that he charged an angling fee for tourists to fish for salmon in his river. These fees in peak season could bring in around £2,000/day – not a bad day’s pay.
Genetics
Holstein genetics are banned in Iceland to protect the native cattle breeds which have been around for about 1,000 years, although as Iceland moves closer to align itself with Europe it is coming under pressure to open up to other breeds.
The native Icelandic breed is a dual-purpose type of animal that goes out to graze in the summer. In fact, the law says that all cattle must graze for at least 60 days. All farms must have six months of slurry storage, with new buildings needing eight months of storage capacity.
Brexit
Inevitably, Brexit was a topic of conversation. A representative of the Icelandic Dairies Association told me that they had developed a brand of cheese called Skyr which had been marketed heavily in the UK.
They regarded the UK as an important export destination primarily as it was one of their closest markets. Having done a deal to have Skyr stocked in 800 Aldi stores they were very concerned about the uncertainty around future UK trade policies, and the knock-on effect that this would have on their dairy industry.
Home farm
Back to the home farm, first-cut silage was mowed on 1 May last year. With that date been and gone, it highlights just how much further behind we are this year.
So far, the low yielders have been out by day for almost three weeks. Grazing conditions up until this week have been less than ideal but with strong growth and rapidly disappearing silage stocks it makes more sense to try to make some sort of start on the grass wedge.
With an early housing date and late turnout it has been a long winter and it is beginning to take its toll on cows’ feet. Foot bathing has been increased and any spare time seems to be spent trimming cows’ feet. Would it be too optimistic to think that we will get a really good summer to make up for the late spring?
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