- NEWS
‘Enrika: Sweet as sugar and bright as the sun’ A 1,000-strong congregation burst into spontaneous applause last night after hearing heartfelt tributes to a mother and daughter brutally murdered at the weekend.
‘Parole board let evil rapist prey on Jill’The husband of murdered Jill Meagher says the man who raped and murdered his wife is "unrepentantly evil".
- WORLD
Boy, 13, charged over ‘wrestling’ death of sister, 5 A 13-year-old boy has been charged with second-degree murder over the death of his five-year-old half-sister after he told investigators he repeatedly struck her with wrestling moves imitated from TV.
N Korea ‘will kill Hitler report authors’ North Korea has angrily denied a report its ruler used Adolf Hitler's memoir as a leadership guide, threatening to kill the authors of the report.
- BUSINESS
Boss bonuses distort pay averagesThe head of the Irish Bank Officials Association claims that bonuses to senior executives are distorting CSO statistics which indicate rises for financial workers.
Aircraft leasing firm buys 10 Boeing jetsShannon-based aircraft leasing firm GE Capital Aviation Services have bought 10 new Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners for an estimated $3bn (€2.24bn) at list price.
- SPORT
Counties facing funding cuts unless managers’ charter agreedFour counties have been warned they risk having funding withheld if they don't devise a managers' charter.
Wallabies ratchet up the pressureSUDDENLY, Jake White's prediction of doom for the British & Irish Lions should they lose Saturday's first Test against Australia possesses extra foreboding.
- LIFESTYLE
Making films that matterHuman rights themes are again to the fore at the ICCL awards, writes Pádraic Killeen
Limerick eyes Gay GamesThe Treaty City is hoping for a financial bonanza if it lands the 2018 event, writes Jonathan deBurca Butler
17-20C
Breaking stories
New dairy farm entrants budget for profit of 5c per litre
New entrants to dairy farming over the past three years are budgeting for profitability of 5 cent per litre, equivalent to €422 per hectare, or €677 per cow.
By Stephen Cadogan
About 230 new stand-alone dairy farm businesses have received 200,000 litres of milk quota from the new entrant scheme in its first three years. About another 120 are expected to establish by 2015. Most (81%) of the 230 new entrants in place are located in the south and south east, according to a study by Teagasc and UCD staff of the detailed five-year business plans submitted by scheme applicants, which is the subject of a report in the TResearch magazine published by Teagasc.
Over half of the new entrants were previously in beef production, with most of the remainder coming from mixed farming.
With an average farm size of 70 cows on 58ha, the new entrant farms will be lowly stocked during the initial years of the new business.
However, there is significant potential for milk production expansion on these dairy farms in the future.
The average budgeted infrastructure investment on these new dairy farms is €188,000, mostly earmarked for milking parlours, animal accommodation and the purchase of dairy stock. Just over one third of the applicants are developing their new enterprises on farms that were previously in dairying, and they may already have had some of the necessary infrastructure in place.
The planned investment will largely be funded by borrowings (of €88,000 on average), in addition to savings and the sale of existing stock from the previous enterprise.
According to sources in Teagasc, factors likely to influence the success of these new businesses include their level of investment in infrastructure, efficiency and rate of expansion of production, and external cost pressures such as interest and inflation rates.
Applications to the dairy new entrant scheme have increased significantly each year, exceeding 200 applications for the first time in 2011.
The milk quota they receive comes from the Government decision to allocate one-quarter of the 1% per year increase in EU milk quotas up to 2015 to new entrants.
The new entrants will be under the microscope in a research project, part funded by AIB Bank. This will include analysis of the financial statements which each new entrant is required to submit at the end of each year.
According to sources in Teagasc, this group of new dairy producers represents the initial evolution of the dairy industry in Ireland post-EU milk quotas, and provides a unique opportunity to examine the characteristics of new dairy producers entering the industry in Ireland. Their characteristics, and how they adopt technology, will be examined.
* Meanwhile, after detailed consultation with members on the orderly expansion of the dairy industry, Macra na Feirme president Alan Jagoe has launched Macra’s dairy policy, with proposals on the relationship between farmers and co-ops after the abolition of milk quota.
© Irish Examiner Ltd. All rights reserved