Winner sees bright future for dairy and farming

A 34-YEAR-OLD dairy and beef producer from near Claremorris, Co Mayo, who has been chosen as Ireland’s Young Farmer of the Year, believes there is a bright future for agriculture.

Timothy Quinn, who was chosen from 29 finalists, whittled down from an entry of 200, said there is an increasing global demand for dairy products, although profitability is being curtailed by high input costs.

“Increased scale and efficiency will be key to survival. As the single farm payment declines in the future, more beef land should become available for dairy expansion, but future expansion will have to be at a lower cost,” he said.