The Big Dealer: no luck with new mart rules

The Dealer has noticed that the move to online mart sales has made it nearly impossible to get a luck penny from anyone selling stock.

Even at physical mart sales, social distancing protocols mean you could not tug someone’s coat to subtly remind them that you bought three of their calves earlier on.

A few pound for luck was useful for funding a pint or two at the next outing to the pub, but I suppose that is on hold until December now too.

Perhaps the whizz kids that run the likes of MartBids will include a luck penny option in their next techno update.

I see that dairy farmers in Scotland are being asked to take part in a survey on operating a cow-with-calf system.

It’s part of a project by Scotland’s rural college which will look at the cow-with-calf system where calves are kept with their dams for up to five months.

The project will look at how the system performs in terms of human, animal, environmental and financial health as well as calf growth, cow longevity and any pitfalls in the system.

I hear rumours that Teagasc Moorepark is also looking at doing something similar to the cow-with-calf system. I’ll be keeping a close eye on this one. I’m sure collecting yards would be some sight with this system!

Farmers will be happy to hear that Teagasc director Gerry Boyle confirmed this week that the semi-state body for agricultural research and advice has no intention to increase advisory fees in the near-term.

Last year, Teagasc brought in over €10.3m from advisory fees paid by 42,000 farmer clients. Advisory fees, mostly coming from the Knowledge Transfer programme, account for a third of the €34.7m in operational income made by Teagasc last year.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, to lose one successor might be misfortune, to lose more than one looks like carelessness.

The Dealer has heard that the departure of Mark Boyle, designated successor to John Horgan at Kepak, is because he didn’t want the industry legend Horgan hanging around. Apparently Horgan visualises himself as an actively involved chair.

Simon Walker will now assume the role of group CEO from 1 January 2021.

This is the second or third time that a senior manager in Kepak has moved on, with Kevin Cahill leaving in 2016 to take charge of OSI Europe, best known as a major manufacturer of burgers for McDonald’s.

Ger Brickley also left for Bandon Co-op.

Money is not the problem. Kepak has gone on the acquisition trail, taking over the red meat processing factories from the 2Sisters food group.

Dividends

The Dealer is wondering if the Keating family, the principal shareholders in Kepak, continue to be satisfied with the dividends they get out of the business, or would they consider selling up and forget about the complications around succession planning?

I see Ballyporeen dairy farmer Pat Clancy landed the vice-chair job on Dairygold board.

That vacancy arose following the departure of Cork’s Edmund Lynch for the reconstructed Ornua board.

Clancy joins chair John O’Gorman, who lives only over the road, at the helm.

The Dealer reckons the Cork lads will be jealous.

With people out of work in the UK due to COVID-19, the government created a website to suggest alternative choices of employment. Award-winning comedian and Kildare native Aisling Bea logged her list of considerable skills, only to find out her dream job was really as a meat factory worker.

The Dealer has a few contacts if Aisling is interested, but they might not see the funny side of a comedian who gets the chop.

There have been several references to Gerry Gunning’s imminent retirement from the IFA, but we couldn’t let his formal departure pass without recognising his 42 years’ service to Irish farmers. Having officially retired last Friday week, true to form, the genial Roscommon native was on hand to help with budget analysis last Tuesday.

Another IFA departure sees Tom Short stepping down as the IFA’s South Leinster chair. The Wicklow drystock and tillage farmer is, like so many others, starting a dairy enterprise, and feels unable to commit the required time to the role.

James Kehoe, the Wexford chair, and Francie Gorman, the recent Laois county chair are both in the race, and I hear Derek Deane is considering a run. The first hurdle will be obtain three nominations from the eight county chairs in the region, meaning it will boil down to a two-horse race. Voting will be by branch officers by postal ballot.