Hard but enjoyable life on a small farm

It hasn’t been the summer we were hoping for.

Setting foot outside the house here in the woods means to risk being savaged by thousands of tiny bloodsucking vampire midges, a sure sign that it’s humid and very wet.

After a promising start in late March and early April, the weather deteriorated rapidly, and settled into a sullen pattern of leaden grey skies and heavy downpours, occasionally alleviated by brief interludes of brilliant sunlight when the leggy growth starts to steam slowly, and the ancient oak woods momentarily resembled a rainforest hidden in the clouds.

The trees are swollen with rain and look twice their normal size, boughs standing out darkly against the hectic green of their leaves.

But it’s not all bad. In between dodging the showers and the manic midges — there are moments of loveliness too.

Five-foot high fennel plants, tiny florets glittering with raindrops and strung with delicate spiders webs, look like miniature fairy lights. There’s the heady scent of warm summer earth and, despite the weather, the welcome blossoming of my favourite apothecary rose bush.

But still, it’s difficult not to wish for a decent settled spell, and an end to whisking the garden furniture and barbecue grill in and out of the shed at regular intervals.

But the situation is a lot more serious for the nation’s farmers than moving a bit of furniture around and fending off the midges.

Figures for last year indicated that farm incomes had risen by a respectable 32%. But figures can be misleading. In a recent issue of this publication, Kieran Coughlan pointed out that the headlines should more properly have read “average farm income €24,861”.

Despite increases, only one-third of farms are economically viable businesses, and almost 37,000 farm households are considered to be economically vulnerable. Some financial commentators have questioned the viability of a sector that is so heavily subsidised. According to IFA, 70% of farm income comes from direct payments

Yet, set against a backdrop of continuing unemployment, budget cuts and what seems to be an insurmountable national debt, this recorded increase in income for 2011 casts a welcome light on the gloom.

There’s no doubt that Ireland’s agri-food industry is flourishing, with food and drink exports picking up by 12% last year, netting a record of almost €9bn. For example, Ireland is one of the top five beef exporters in the world.

Irish agriculture promises those very elements deemed necessary for economic recovery — exports and innovations. But then, farming in Ireland has always been relied on as an engine of the economy.

Like farmers everywhere, small farmers have to be hard-working, adaptable and canny, ready to respond to the vagaries of farming, such as weather, variable commodity prices, trade agreements and other factors which can be frustratingly beyond their control.

Dr Thia Hennessey, who headed the team behind the recent Teagasc National Farm Survey, stressed that increases in income were likely to be a “short-lived spike”, with incomes set to return to 2010 levels. And that commodity prices, especially for dairy products, were already on a downward trajectory.

In light of the sometimes conflicting information and statistics, I found myself wondering what effects these various forecasts were having on farming friends of mine in Kealkil.

The Kelleher family have farmed their 150 acres plus rented land since 1954. Over the years I’ve known them, they have always had a pragmatic and resolutely optimistic approach to their farming endeavours.

I called over for a chat with Danny and Debbie Kelleher on a recent Sunday morning.

* How have things been for you this last year?

>>Well, despite the good news about increases in farm income, I don’t think the smaller farmers are affected in quite the same way. We still have electricity bills of €450-plus, and the price of fertilisers and feed are high, but we’ve managed away.

* When we last spoke, Debbie, you had just started the boarding kennels. Was it hard to get a new enterprise up and running? Since I’ve been here, there have been three different families coming to drop off their dogs, so it looks like you’re busy enough now.

>>It’s been going really well. We’ve recently converted another building into purpose-built kennels to accommodate more dogs. The summer holidays up until Christmas are our busiest times.

* Did you have to do much advertising to get things going?

>>We had intended to. We did some all right, but then word about us just seemed to spread, and we found we were getting lots of repeat customers. It’s really nice when people come to us for the first time, telling us that they have heard such good things about the place.

* How has running this growing business fitted in with all the other farm work, Danny? You still have 50 head of cattle, milkers and sucklers, don’t you?

>>Yes we do. I gave up the lorry some years ago, but I still go to the marts with the jeep and a trailer. I find that just as handy, Debbie and our daughter Jessie are the ones who are most hands-on with the kennels, but we all lend a hand when it’s needed.

* So how about this 32% increase in farm incomes? Are you all planning a summer holiday in the sun?

>> “Well when you look at it, calves are more expensive to buy in, feed and fertiliser have gone up, and if you take all that into account, I don’t think the small farmer is actually much better off than they were 15 or 20 years ago.

* How will the elimination of milk quotas affect you?

>>I think that’s really going to be of most benefit to the bigger boys. They are able to buy in supplies and restock much cheaper, because they are dealing in volume. A good heifer that you might have got for €350, €400 some years ago could fetch €1,000 today. And the export market is still strong as well.

* You gave up the sheep a couple of years ago, didn’t you? Why was that?

>>There wasn’t enough money in them at the time, and no money for the wool. Most of it was left rotting in the sheds. Now it’s fetching a decent price. But still, there’s too much work in running after the sheep, so we planted the hill instead [with forestry].

* You’ve four children, three in further education, so you have to always have an eye to their future too, don’t you?

>> Yes, you do. Thankfully, they are all doing well. Jessie, Stacy and Liam are all going through college. Amanda, the youngest, is still at school. So you have to do your best to ensure their futures as well. You just have to be flexible, adjust to changing trends to survive, whether you’re big or small. But then farming has always been like that, hasn’t it?