Land rental critical to dairy expansion

A cultural shift towards land rental, good banking arrangements and forward agreements with co-ops will be vital to dairy expansion, farmers heard at the AIB seminar Future Prospects for Irish Agriculture in Silversprings Hotel, Cork.

Some 600 farmers and farm families heard AIB agri advisor Tadgh Buckley say that the actual number of farms available for rent in Ireland every year is very low; at just 18%, the lowest in the EU. In contrast, up to 85% of land in France is rented.

Tadgh’s comments were echoed by Minister Simon Coveney, who held the attention of a silenced room for a solid hour. One of his key messages was the need for farmers to look at their own activities as a business.