A tough year but there’s nobody panicking

The farming business is not one that’s prone to its participants losing the run of themselves.

It’s true that the summer was the coldest and wettest on record in an industry that is more weather-dependant than most and it’s true that this has represented a financial set-back for a number of farmers. But in farming, it’s the long-term forecast that counts and most analysts believe that the current hiatus being experienced by some is very much a transient phenomenon.

“Land prices haven’t dropped at all,” says auctioneer Richard Ryan of GVM in Kilmallock. “We’ve gone through a hard year and that has dampened farmers’ spirits somewhat but that will be short-lived... and farmers are positive-thinking people, generally speaking.”