Come into the parlour and everyone can share milking
Structural issues particularly around access to and use of land currently prove a constraint.
However, there are opportunities emerging and I’d like to highlight share milking as one of these opportunities. There is very useful support provided by the new Land Mobility Service for farmers interested in pursuing this route.
Now that milk quotas are gone from next year and with enthusiasm from milk processors for extra milk, real opportunities are emerging for share milking in Ireland.
The farms where share milking is most likely to work are:
n An established dairy farm where an identified farming successor is not in place and the farm owner wants to step back.
n An established dairy farm where the scale and facilities exist to expand, having previously being held back by quota, but will require labour.
n An expanding operator who is taking on an additional unit, either through purchase, lease or partnership. This farm will require labour and/or management.
Instead of a young trained farmer joining one of these farms as an employee or assistant manager, a young farmer should consider coming in on an equity basis. The share milker gets a guaranteed minimum income plus a share of the milk cheque and pays a share of the variable costs.
He/she is a farmer in their own right, farming in conjunction with the land owner. The share farmers’ income and advancement will be driven by the performance of the farm, something they have a direct say in, the better and more efficiently they operate the farm the more they get out of it.
The flip side is that the land owner will also benefit. Both parties are separate farmers, working together, but submitting their own tax returns.
Lower order share milking requires minimal equity, just a bank facility to be able to pay some variable costs. In higher order share milking the share milker will invariable own cows which will require more equity or could be as a result of equity build up.
Share milking provides an excellent entry into farming for any one with training and/or experience, including farm managers, assistant managers, herd persons; young trained farmers with no or insufficient land of their own; and Irish people working on or operating dairy farms outside the country.
Also ideally suited are second sons/daughters who want to farm. So too are those who will in time take over the home farm.
The Land Mobility Service managed by Austin Finn was set up to further promote different forms of land use. The service was an initiative of Macra na Feirme, funded by FBD Trust with support from various stakeholders including Dairygold, Aurivo and Glanbia.
A pilot programme is being formulated between Teagasc and Macra’s Land Mobility Service.
Teagasc is developing agreements, templates and budgets for dairy share farming. The Land Mobility Service has identified dairy farms that are open to working with a share milker.
If interested, contact the service. It’s confidential and without obligation but well worth exploring at info@landmobility.ie or contact Austin Finn on 086 2541425.
