Expansion for the livestock sector is a high risk strategy

It’s a constant battle to get a fair share of the end price and the reality has always been that the greatest share of it goes to the processors and the retailers, writes ICSA president Patrick Kent.

Expanding production is a highly risky strategy — this is the warning that I gave to Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed at ICSA’s AGM and Annual Conference which took place in Portlaoise last week.

I made this warning in the context of Brexit uncertainty, dismal farm incomes and the looming threat of more trade deals on the heels of CETA. Advising livestock farmers to increase their production is foolhardy in the extreme.