Farming as a knowledge-based enterprise
Professor Liam Downey, the former head of Teagasc, put that point of view last week at a significant gathering of agriculture heads in Dublin.
It was the launch of a new report, Knowledge Agriculture Perspectives towards a New Model of Milk Production. It’s a mouthful, but translated it says farmers will make more money if they use the growing knowledge available on nutrition and genetics.
His remarks are based on research he and other eminent experts have carried out on behalf of Keenan, the nutrition based agri-business group headquartered in Co Carlow.
Prof Downey is head of the Scientific Advisory Board set up by Keenan Group last year with the task of tracking the changes facing farmers due to CAP reform and the introduction from January 1 of the single farm payment from Brussels.
Keenan has evolved its own feeding system and has been promoting it in recent years. To lend weight to its enterprise it recruited Prof Downey and Prof David Beever, former head of dairy research at Reading University, and Prof Patrick Cunningham, an expert in animal genetics.
Keenan claims world leadership in this sphere of farm management and sells its integrated nutritional cattle feeding machinery and back up nutritional advice to 15,000 farmers in 40 countries.
While the Keenan method is well respected, judging by its international success, it is still a hard sell despite the conviction of those involved that better feeding techniques and animal husbandry can add significantly to the efficiency of farm output.
I’m not sure that the heads in the IFA are totally enamoured with the Keenan view of dairy farming, but that’s a matter for them. Either way it strikes me that this is a debate that ought to continue in the interest of Irish dairy farmers above any other considerations.
With such top people on board, the knowledge debate is something that will continue to evolve as farming across the globe, and not just in Europe, is forced to take a more embracing approach to food production.
This is the way the EU is driving agriculture. Quality food is no longer the sole issue. Impact on the environment and maintaining a balance between urban and rural communities is also a key concern.
Even with those constrictions, the Keenan Group believes their system of genetics and feeding can add €15,000 to the income of a dairy farmer with 50 cows within a four-year period of it being introduced on the farm.
The message seems to be clear. It is not all simply about more quota and size. Techniques have a role to play and while those of us on the periphery of farm life can only nod approvingly, the Keenan argument is, at the very least, worth examining by dairy farmers.
Prof Downey insists there are new opportunities for farmers to increase output and profits within the existing limitations.
“Countries whose farming and food industries most quickly pursue step changes in practices will be the most competitive in international markets” is his message.
