‘Decoupling will allow us farm sensibly’

MARGARET LEHANE believes the CAP reform deal will be positive for the country’s 100,000 beef producers.

Margaret, from Kanturk in Co Cork, who has been farming for as long as she can remember, said she will now aim to supply what the markets need, not what the subsidies encouraged her to.

An executive member of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA), which supports full decoupling of production from subsidies, she runs a 110-acre beef farm plus a pig enterprise in Drumcummer with her husband Dermot. She said the concept of full decoupling is a good one and should positively affect Ireland’s agricultural markets, especially for beef farmers, without causing too many production and income hiccups.