Britain offers more than Ireland for dairy farmers
That was the verdict of 1,400-cow farmer John Leeson, from Devon in England, when he addressed the Positive Farmers Conference held recently in Limerick.
“A more realistic value of land and greater access to quota still make the UK a reasonable bet for grassland, dairying and tillage, although there are not nearly as many good farms for sale as previously.”
He said that when he looked at establishing a dairy farm in 2001, the set-up cost was up to €25,000 per cow in Ireland, with very little chance of obtaining further quota to grow the business. “It did not appear to be a sensible use of money, even using figures obtained by the top 15% of Irish dairy farmers.
“Despite a lower milk price, calves that were worth very little due to foot and mouth, and cull cows being incinerated due to BSE, we reckoned we could make more money from three cows in Devon than one in Ireland.”
John, with his daughter and son-in-law, bought 490 acres in 2002, and 390 acres in 2004. Set-up costs came to under €10,000 a cow, which included construction of eight houses for staff, two new milking parlours, and conversion of a beef unit to 600 cubicles. They were also able to rent an adjacent 1,030 acres on a long-term lease at a reasonable price, which brought the set-up costs down to €7,600 per cow. He said that while costs have increased in Britain in recent years, they remain at about 50% of comparable set-up costs in Ireland, due mainly to the high cost of land and quota.
Among positive points for establishing in Britain were land available at €7,000 to €9,000 per acre, quota at 2.5 to 3 cent per litre, €45 per acre silage contractor charges, rented land at €80 to €150 per acre, and a better grant and taxation system.
On the negative side, he said supermarkets and dairies in Britain dominate dairy farmers, who had been unable to exert any influence since the disbandment of the Milk Marketing Board in 1994. Also, Teagasc at Moorepark provided more relevant research for Irish farmers than anything available in Britain, and the Irish press kept farmers better informed. In May 2008, his herd will convert fully to organic milk production, with an expected milk price of 52 cents per litre.
