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The recent debate on the future of the tillage sector in the Dáil threw up an unexpected call for the return of the Land Commission. Tipperary independent TD Mattie McGrath said the problem in his county was that “a conglomerate, namely, Coolmore, is buying every bit of land”.
According to McGrath, the stud “is pricing everyone out of the market”, and that’s not just to feed their horses. “Very little of it is oats and horses do not eat wheat, as far as I know, especially thoroughbreds,” the TD said, arguing that Coolmore now had “3000, 4,000 or 5,000 acres of corn”.
“We need to have control over the acquisition of thousands of acres by a horsing conglomerate. This is also happening in Wicklow and other places.
“The small man who wants to keep going or the young farmer who has all his Green Certificates and wants to be able to expand a little to be viable gets no look in. This is reprehensible,” McGrath added.
“We need the Land Commission back or something like it.”
Mind you, the Dealer knows of no instance where Coolmore has bought land which is the subject of a vulture fund.
There was more than normal interest in this year’s election to the board of Barryroe Co-op, which concluded last week. Three farmers contested two seats which in the end went to pig producer Daniel Whelton and dairy farmer John O’Brien, both of them from the Barryroe area.
However, the main buzz was around the third candidate, John Whelton from Butlerstown. He took the unusual step of writing a lengthy letter to all Barryroe members announcing his candidacy and seeking votes. But he also wrote that he was a victim of “unfair management decisions” made within the co-op and asked chief executive Peadar Murphy to answer a few queries ahead of the election.
The issues he queried included accuracy of SCC testing and high turnover of staff at the co-op. However, his biggest issue was about the Carbery Milk Bonus, which Barryroe ties to purchase of inputs, unlike Bandon, Lisavaird and Drinagh, who just pass it on.
“I don’t mind Barryroe having a loyalty bonus, however the Carbery Milk Bonus was for milk I supplied to Carbery,” he wrote. He pledged that if Barryroe were to pay out the bonus now – ahead of any legal challenge he might yet take – he would donate €5,000 to Our Ladies Hospital, in Dublin.
Alas, John Whelton’s run at the board was not successful – this time anyway.
We all know farmers can come out with hilarious lines, either deliberately or despite themselves.
Working on a farmers’ helpline can offer lighter moments. Here’s a sample of one actual call.
Farmer : I’m calling to book an AI call.
Phone operator: Grand. When was she noticed?
Farmer : This morning.
Phone operator : What are you giving her?
Farmer : Um, silage?
I see that AIB’s head of agri, Anne Finnegan is moving on to take up a new role within AIB focussing on Food, Fisheries and Brexit.
Taking her place as head of agri is Cork dairy farmer Tadhg Buckley. Buckley has worked in various agri advisory roles in AIB. Most recently he headed up AIB’s agri-advisory team in Cork and the southwest. He holds a degree in Agricultural Science from UCD and an MBA from University of Limerick. He will start the new job on 1 June.
French dairy giant Danone has announced that proceeds from all retail sales in its home country on 21 September will go towards funding regenerative agriculture projects. Farmers and advisers promoting organic production, reduced inputs and greenhouse gas emissions, better animal welfare and biodiversity and soil preservation will share the estimated €5m. I hope some of this will trickle down to the Irish farmers supplying Danone through their co-ops.
The Dealer doesn’t need to remind any farmer about the inclement spring of 2018 but I was struck by just how bad it has been on May eve.
Like many others, I was out shaking Easter water in the corners of each of my fields in an attempt to ward off piseogs and other misfortunes. The ancient tradition is supposed to protect my crops for the year ahead. This year is the first time I can remember shaking the holy water on stubbles instead of a growing crop.
I see that the managing director of Kilbeggan Races Paddy Dunican has landed a big award in the midlands.
Dunican has been awarded the 2018 Athlone Business Person of the Year Award.
Paddy has been a stalwart at Kilbeggan Racecourse over the last 30 years.
The agri-taxation review comes to a conclusion at the end of the month, but still on the agenda is to “examine the tax system to determine unintended barriers to female participation”. The Dealer has always believed a farm should be passed on to whoever has the most interest in it, be they male or female.
But tax itself is seen as a barrier by many farmers, be they lady or gentlemen farmers.
Infant formula drives Danone growth
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