2025 Agri-Food Strategy Submission

Education:

  • Improved educational courses for potential young farmers and those working in the primary sectors, these courses must include practical on farm training in conjuction with modular training leading to a recognised qualification
  • Training must include an educational ladder through which individuals can attain qualifications from on farm technical & practical skills right through to Business management and financial skills. Special consideration should be given to courses in Deal management, communications and relationship management as this will influence to what degree farmers can expand.
  • A formal career path course for the dairy sector allowing for educational opportunity relative to the position held on farm, eg. Farm assistant—Herd manager—Assistant manager—Farm manager—Business operations manager.
  • All courses should be available through one recognisable training body with the ability to pick courses from a flexible menu.

Dairy:

  • Development of a Technical group to drive improvements in how sharemilking and contract milking oppertunities can be maximised. It is crucial to develop a working model suitable for irish conditions. Additional financial and taxation incentives should be allowable under such agreements for both the farmer and the landowner
  • Land owners to be allowed to invest ‘cash’ in their farm, lease it out and claim capital allowances against a higher lease cost. Depreciation of assets should also be linked to the term of any lease agreement.
  • Chattel mortgages should be available to farmers under 40 at favourable interest rates. Simple achieveable criteria that generates a ‘win-win’ for both the banks and farmers
  • Continued support for the Irish Cattle Breeding Society with additional financial support given to research on genomics and sexed semen technologys. Huge potential to develop a export focused brand to capitalise on a world class genetics programme.
  • Data held by the Irish Cattle Breeding Society needs to be safegaurded from external influence
  • Improved financial assistance for Animal Health Ireland in order to deliver research around the major diseases which affect our national herd. Compulsory compliance with any new disease eradication scheme that is implemented, with lessons learned from the current BVD scheme where ‘persistently infected’ animals are being retained on farms slowing the rate of disease eradication.
  • Introduction of a dairy sector awards system to recognise excellence within the industry.
  • Continued consolidation of the processing sector with active taxation and financial incentives for co-ops involved in collaberative and rationalisation agreements
  • Analysis of infant formula processing and marketing, currently irish dairy processors have no control of a hugely important product which is a large percentage of irish dairy exports

Beef:

  • Merging of Teagasc and Bord bia in order to improve on farm technology implemention
  • Beef education sylabus requires a major overhaul, focused on producing beef cost effectively and efficiently from animals predisposed for irish conditions
  • A refocused industry with a demonstrated ability to deliver a profit at farm level. Research programme broken into different groups such as sucklers, finishing etc.
  • Industry research built around a commericial monitor farm programme overseen by a board containing successful commerical farmers in order to achieve best practice
  • Buy in from breed societies and processors to educate established farmers on the delivery of profitable systems, farmers require lead in periods relating to spec changes

Other:

  • Early farm retirement incentives, targeted towards farmers over 65
  • Availability of farmer to farmer contracts with tillage sector and other sectors, with intermediaries such as the marts or co-op which can gaurantee payment and delivery.
  • Compulsory Health and Safety course for all farmers

Infrastructure:

  • Implementation of relevant infrastructure in the agri sector
  • Need for 3 phase electricity to be made available through out the country, with the expansion of the dairy industry and its benefits to other sectors such as poultry and pig along with the wider community. It is currently a prohibitive cost and a development restraint on farms.
  • Grant aid and incentives for construction of cattle underpasses on primary and secondary roads where crossing roads with livestock is a safety hazard and where it can improve the efficiency of fragmented farms.

Compiled by Nuffield Ireland Farming Scholars:

John Buckley

Shane Fitzgerald

Tom Moyles

Kevin Nolan

Sean O’Donnell

Bill O’Keefe

Jonathon Tighe