Brian Patterson has been collecting milk for LacPatrick (formerly Town of Monaghan) for 28 years.
When the Irish Farmers Journal joined him, he was collecting milk from farmers around Bessbrook, which is northwest of Newry in Co Armagh, for processing at LacPatrick’s Monaghan town plant.
Patterson’s route took him from Monaghan across the border to Keady and on to Bessbrook. He has clear memories of what the border checks were like.
“We lost a lot of time, lost an hour every load,” he recalls. “But we were only doing one load a day back then. Now we are doing four loads a day and you can’t afford to lose that much
time.
“You could be through Armagh in 20 minutes but Newry and Dundalk could put an extra two hours on a load.
There’s lots of talk, but people don’t know what to say and they don’t know what will happen
"You had to get a special licence for Sunday mornings and be at the customs at an appointed time. If you didn’t make it, the customs guys were gone and you couldn’t get across.
“There is a lot more traffic now, a lot more trucks and drivers have to watch the tachograph,” he points out.
Farmers he talks to are unsure how Brexit will affect them.
“There’s lots of talk, but people don’t know what to say and they don’t know what will happen. They are worried enough about it,” says Patterson.
“Some farmers I’d be lifting from would be growing crops in the south and they’d be worried about getting crops down and slurry up. The slurry is a problem.
“There is plenty of land to grow maize around Dundalk that’s not available here and that would be a big miss for our larger farmers,” he adds.
Read more
Brexit border: farmer views from Northern Ireland
Farmers still in the dark over Brexit border
Brexit border: farmer views from the Republic
LacPatrick’s Brexit concerns
Brian Patterson has been collecting milk for LacPatrick (formerly Town of Monaghan) for 28 years.
When the Irish Farmers Journal joined him, he was collecting milk from farmers around Bessbrook, which is northwest of Newry in Co Armagh, for processing at LacPatrick’s Monaghan town plant.
Patterson’s route took him from Monaghan across the border to Keady and on to Bessbrook. He has clear memories of what the border checks were like.
“We lost a lot of time, lost an hour every load,” he recalls. “But we were only doing one load a day back then. Now we are doing four loads a day and you can’t afford to lose that much
time.
“You could be through Armagh in 20 minutes but Newry and Dundalk could put an extra two hours on a load.
There’s lots of talk, but people don’t know what to say and they don’t know what will happen
"You had to get a special licence for Sunday mornings and be at the customs at an appointed time. If you didn’t make it, the customs guys were gone and you couldn’t get across.
“There is a lot more traffic now, a lot more trucks and drivers have to watch the tachograph,” he points out.
Farmers he talks to are unsure how Brexit will affect them.
“There’s lots of talk, but people don’t know what to say and they don’t know what will happen. They are worried enough about it,” says Patterson.
“Some farmers I’d be lifting from would be growing crops in the south and they’d be worried about getting crops down and slurry up. The slurry is a problem.
“There is plenty of land to grow maize around Dundalk that’s not available here and that would be a big miss for our larger farmers,” he adds.
Read more
Brexit border: farmer views from Northern Ireland
Farmers still in the dark over Brexit border
Brexit border: farmer views from the Republic
LacPatrick’s Brexit concerns
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