I was impressed to see progress on the extension to Kiernan Milling while driving past in Granard, Co Longford, this week.
The company is keeping quiet about the new development for the moment, but documents filed with regulatory authorities show that the new building has been in the works for the past few years and will host an extra feed mill, boosting the site’s production by up to 200,000t annually in addition to the existing capacity of over 300,000t. Watch this space.
The extension to the Kiernan Milling feed manufacturing plant under construction in Granard, Co Longford.
No ponies for dry Gurteen
Gurteen Agricultural College, Co Tipperary, is the latest venue to fall victim to a series of horse eventing cancellations caused by the ongoing drought. The Irish Pony Club had to move a cross-country event planned there over the August bank holiday weekend west to Crecora, Co Limerick, where the weather has been more clement. Many other events planned on natural ground have been cancelled because of the risk of injury to horses or riders due to the unusually hard, dry soil.
Cyclists interrupt farmers’ protest
News reports from southwestern France on Tuesday suggested that local farmers engaged in the time-honoured activity of throwing bales of straw on to public roads in protest were violently interrupted by a mob of cyclists.
The cyclists, riding at breakneck speeds and blatantly ignoring the rules of the road, tried to force their way through the farmers’ protest, and were allegedly taking part in some famous race called the Tour de France.
Police quickly intervened, tear-gassing the cyclists copiously (which is another local tradition, it seems) and interrupting the race for several minutes.
According to reports, the farmers were protesting over changes to the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) maps.
Has boots, has CAP, will travel
Is European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan the most travelled ever? During his term of office, he has been to China four times, Japan twice, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mexico, Columbia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Argentina – and also to Kenya for WTO business.
On these, he was the EU agricultural industry’s salesman and the trip to Japan that concluded the trade deal will give him particular satisfaction, though it will take time to deliver full value.
At the beginning of June, CAP proposals were presented and by the end of the month he had visited 27 member states taking part in 29 information events to sell the deal.
He should certainly have enough air miles earned to choose whatever flight he wants for a summer holiday.
Pat Duffy, Aurivo chair.
Duffy gets another two years
I see Pat Duffy was re-elected as chair of Aurivo after a board meeting of the co-op last week and will remain in the role for another two years. The Leitrim dairy farmer was vice-chair for six years between 2008 and 2014. At the same meeting I see that Raymond Barlow got the nod for a second term in the role of vice-chair.
Sustainable meets unsustainable
The Dealer was at a Bord Bia/Teagasc farm walk this week in Mayo, where the topic to the fore was sustainable production through maintaining the environment while observing animal welfare standards and reacting to consumer demands. One farmer present was quick to ask: “What State body is looking after the financial sustainability of the farmer? I’d like to know where financial sustainability comes in to all this because what I’m doing at the moment finishing cattle certainly isn’t financially sustainable.”
Gardaí towing the line on trailers
One of the highlights of a farm walk in Mayo this week proved to be a jeep and trailer when a local garda went through the legal towing capacity of the jeep and what weight the trailer was permitted to carry.
The squad car was parked close by and the obvious question came as to what it could legally tow. The garda duly popped the bonnet to check when one farmer interjected: “We’ll be keeping an eye out for her in Balla next Saturday drawing in the few weanlings,” much to the amusement of everybody listening.
The towing capacity of the Hyundai i30 squad car was 1,500kg, so when you take off a typical two-cow trailer weighing 600kg, that means you could squeeze in two 450kg Charolais bull weanlings, no problem.
I was impressed to see progress on the extension to Kiernan Milling while driving past in Granard, Co Longford, this week.
The company is keeping quiet about the new development for the moment, but documents filed with regulatory authorities show that the new building has been in the works for the past few years and will host an extra feed mill, boosting the site’s production by up to 200,000t annually in addition to the existing capacity of over 300,000t. Watch this space.
The extension to the Kiernan Milling feed manufacturing plant under construction in Granard, Co Longford.
No ponies for dry Gurteen
Gurteen Agricultural College, Co Tipperary, is the latest venue to fall victim to a series of horse eventing cancellations caused by the ongoing drought. The Irish Pony Club had to move a cross-country event planned there over the August bank holiday weekend west to Crecora, Co Limerick, where the weather has been more clement. Many other events planned on natural ground have been cancelled because of the risk of injury to horses or riders due to the unusually hard, dry soil.
Cyclists interrupt farmers’ protest
News reports from southwestern France on Tuesday suggested that local farmers engaged in the time-honoured activity of throwing bales of straw on to public roads in protest were violently interrupted by a mob of cyclists.
The cyclists, riding at breakneck speeds and blatantly ignoring the rules of the road, tried to force their way through the farmers’ protest, and were allegedly taking part in some famous race called the Tour de France.
Police quickly intervened, tear-gassing the cyclists copiously (which is another local tradition, it seems) and interrupting the race for several minutes.
According to reports, the farmers were protesting over changes to the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) maps.
Has boots, has CAP, will travel
Is European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan the most travelled ever? During his term of office, he has been to China four times, Japan twice, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mexico, Columbia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Argentina – and also to Kenya for WTO business.
On these, he was the EU agricultural industry’s salesman and the trip to Japan that concluded the trade deal will give him particular satisfaction, though it will take time to deliver full value.
At the beginning of June, CAP proposals were presented and by the end of the month he had visited 27 member states taking part in 29 information events to sell the deal.
He should certainly have enough air miles earned to choose whatever flight he wants for a summer holiday.
Pat Duffy, Aurivo chair.
Duffy gets another two years
I see Pat Duffy was re-elected as chair of Aurivo after a board meeting of the co-op last week and will remain in the role for another two years. The Leitrim dairy farmer was vice-chair for six years between 2008 and 2014. At the same meeting I see that Raymond Barlow got the nod for a second term in the role of vice-chair.
Sustainable meets unsustainable
The Dealer was at a Bord Bia/Teagasc farm walk this week in Mayo, where the topic to the fore was sustainable production through maintaining the environment while observing animal welfare standards and reacting to consumer demands. One farmer present was quick to ask: “What State body is looking after the financial sustainability of the farmer? I’d like to know where financial sustainability comes in to all this because what I’m doing at the moment finishing cattle certainly isn’t financially sustainable.”
Gardaí towing the line on trailers
One of the highlights of a farm walk in Mayo this week proved to be a jeep and trailer when a local garda went through the legal towing capacity of the jeep and what weight the trailer was permitted to carry.
The squad car was parked close by and the obvious question came as to what it could legally tow. The garda duly popped the bonnet to check when one farmer interjected: “We’ll be keeping an eye out for her in Balla next Saturday drawing in the few weanlings,” much to the amusement of everybody listening.
The towing capacity of the Hyundai i30 squad car was 1,500kg, so when you take off a typical two-cow trailer weighing 600kg, that means you could squeeze in two 450kg Charolais bull weanlings, no problem.
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