Saturday morning brought something a bit different to the farm as we hosted a busload of young farmers who were attending the Macra national conference in Rosscarbery.

Fortunately the weather was in our favour with the sun shining and, in true Ardfield style, a strong breeze arrived from the north as we headed out the fields.

It was a bit of a full circle moment for us. Dad was on the organising committee of the national conference when it was last held in Rosscarbery in 1979, and I was involved when it was last held in west Cork back in 2009.

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When I was asked if I would consider hosting it, it was a no-brainer and I was delighted when we got the green light to host it from the agricultural affairs committee.

In the run up to it, there was plenty of reflection on how the farm got to where it is now, and it was while looking back that I got to appreciate how much development we had to do on the business over the last 25 years.

While I was hosting, dad’s story was much more important. He arrived in west Cork 53 years ago with a suitcase to finish out his farm apprenticeship on Leo Meade’s dairy and pig farm in Ballinascarthy.

I knew that bit of the story but like everyone who was here, I was hearing some bits of the story for the first time of how he made his way south in a time with no mobile phones, video calls, or eircodes.

While at Mountbellow Agricultural College he was handed the name of the farmer he was to meet for an interview for his first of two placements. Given Daithí O’Gorman’s phone number and address, he checked a map to see where in Tipperary, Clogheen was. He recognised nearby Mitchelstown from the cheese brand and armed with that information he organised a meeting.

They found each other on the platform at Limerick train station when the crowd dispersed and they were the only two left. After the interview, he left with a stamped addressed envelope to send back with his decision whether to accept or turn down that placement. Accepting it, he returned to Clogheen for a year before venturing further south a year later.

Given Daithí O’Gorman’s phone number and address, he checked a map to see where in Tipperary, Clogheen was. He recognised nearby Mitchelstown from the cheese brand and armed with that information he organised a meeting

There was a similar story at the dairy walk that morning where another Mayo man, Padraig Cunnane, had found a way to farm in his own right in the busy farming space that is west Cork. Hopefully both their stories can inspire younger farmers to show what is possible when you put your mind to something.

Having faced the questions from the current generation of young dry stock farmers, I’d be more positive than I would have been before. There is drive there, and the sands are shifting to the point that they could be facing into a period of opportunity that the sector hasn’t seen for a long time.

As was discussed in the afternoon conference, the financial challenges of trying to get two incomes from drystock enterprises is one of the main reasons why it is the poorer relation to dairy with the Land Mobility Service.

If this year sets the new bar for beef prices, then the wider viability of the sector could become more secure. That should be welcome news for communities where dairy production wasn’t a runner.

Finding a way for drystock to succeed warrants further discussion. Maybe there’s an opportunity for the co-op marts to look at it and secure their own futures by offering a service to link up those looking to retire with a younger farmer.