Cork farming blueprint planned as councillors warn of €130m risk to county’s economy

Cork County Council and academics will draft a new agriculture strategy, with a strong focus on dairy, rural economy and food security

They are expected to focus on the true value of agriculture, particularly the booming dairy sector, to the region.

Academics and Cork County Council will draft a blueprint to provide the agricultural sector with targeted infrastructure and economic support.

They are expected to focus on the true value of agriculture, particularly the booming dairy sector, to the region. Once completed, the plan will serve as an economic strategy for the council and form a core part of its corporate plan for supporting the industry.

The initiative was announced by divisional manager Michael Lynch in response to a motion raised by Fianna Fáil councillors Bernard Moynihan and Deputy Mayor Ian Doyle.

Mr Lynch said the council fully recognises the importance of agriculture and its spin-off industries and jobs.

“The preparation of an Economic Strategy for the county is a key priority of the Corporate Plan and it is anticipated agriculture and related industries will play an important role in same,” Mr Lynch said.

He added that collaboration with stakeholders, including University College Cork, Munster Technological University, and Teagasc, will be vital to advancing the agri-sector and supporting rural communities.

“It will formulate ways of helping to create the conditions for developing talent, fostering innovation through research and industry partnerships, supporting rural development and sustainability. This will in turn contribute positively towards enhancing the competitiveness of the county, region and state,” he said.

He noted that a previous collaborative study carried out in 2014 by the then-CIT (now MTU) with the council identified infrastructure commitments needed to expand the dairy industry.

“Given the importance of agriculture and related industries to the economy and communities of Cork, it's now timely to arrange for the preparation of an updated study,” he added.

Mr Moynihan said the work must be completed quickly as farming faces major challenges.

“We have 25% of the dairy cows in this country in our county. The loss of derogation would cost the county’s economy €130m. If we were faced with loss of a quarter of our pharmaceutical companies, there would be an outcry. It would be all over the media and a taskforce would be set up by the government,” Mr Moynihan said.

He added that Cork “is the best place in the world to produce milk with our grass-based system,” where cows graze outdoors most of the year, unlike in Germany and Holland.

Mr Moynihan said Cork must future-proof its agriculture sector, especially as pressure grows from CAP renegotiations and cheap South American beef imports.

Mr Doyle said the sector provides food security and supports major spin-off industries worth hundreds of millions to Cork’s economy.

“When the economy was hit during covid it was farming which kept it alive. We’re the leading lights in the world at milk production. When faming slows the economy slows and when it is going well so too is economy,” Fianna Fail councillor Frank O’Flynn said.

Fianna Fáil councillor Gillian Coughlan added that protecting and enhancing farming must be firmly embedded in the council’s new County Development Plan (CDP).