Cattle markets report: Off-farm income, only money source for hard-pressed beef farmers

I really believe that one of the greatest calamities to hit rural Ireland in my lifetime was our decision to go down the road of the ‘off-farm income’.

Well, ‘off-farm income’ sounded like a great idea at first. A bit of extra cash in the pocket to supplement the farm income. How bad could it be?

Of course, the bean counters who tap into farming as a source of revenue soon saw that this off-farm income meant a new opportunity to squeeze an extra bit of life out of the farmer and his farm.