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IT’S ALMOST THE end of October, which means two things for tillage farmers – the end of the autumn sowing season and the beginning of looking at the books and working out how much they’ve made this year.
Ireland’s tillage farmers are struggling to get by – this year in particular has been a bad year for farmers of crops and grains.
Liam Dunne, a tillage farmer from Athy Co Kildare, says that it’s now when most farmers will “look at the books, start paying bills, and adding up the figures”.
This year, things don’t look good. Lower international prices, poor yields, and bad weather have lead to a “perfect storm” for tillage farmers.
Last year held particularly good yields, and no one is sure why this year is different – some say it’s climate change, others say it was the ‘late spring’, and other say it was last year’s bad floods which may have washed all the nutrients out of the soil.
The result are poor grains that weigh lighter than usual, and a drop of 2.51 million tonnes to 2.1 million tonnes - this is partly due to land being sold off.
Tillage farmers have always been worried about the “perfect storm”. We haven’t lost a crop since 1985 – but there have been crops lost this year – over the western seaboard from Cork city to Derry city.
Liam is also the chairman of the Irish Farmers’ Association Grain Committee; a lot of farmers call him to voice their concerns. He says that a lot of farmers are now applying for the Direct Farm Payment to keep their business going, rather than on living expenses, or reinvestment.
“If you’re spending the payment on fuel expenses, that’s a bad place to be.”
Farmers were due to receive 70% of this payment last night.
He says that the spouses of farmers now carry more of the pressure and make contributions to the household finances, as well as the decision-making.
I know one farmer who has lost his crop. His eldest daughter is gone to university in Dublin, and they’ve managed to pay for the tuition up until Christmas, but they don’t think they can [afford to] keep her there.
Farmers are forced into either selling land or selling equipment to stay afloat.
Sometimes they have to sell something, if you have three tractors you might sell one on. But the problem is that the lad down the road that would buy it is also in difficulty – so what you’d get would be very little.
Liam said that as farmers add up their earnings for the year, they should share their thoughts with the people around them – family, friends and other farmers.
“It’s hugely important. I recommend that people to talk to their neighbours, who are probably in the same place as you, but you won’t get any consolation by dealing with this on your own.
“Talk you your spouse, your merchant, your manager, your co-op. Pieta House is also there if you need to talk.”
If you need to talk, contact:
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The European cheap food policy that sees farmers get break-even prices for food and forces them to rely on the single payment (at best) for income is unsustainable. The supermarkets push farm gate prices down more every year while maintaining their own margins; a year like this one makes it very difficult for the farmers to go on. There has to be a floor below which prices are not allowed to drop, otherwise we just continue to depopulate rural areas as more and more farmers get out of the business.
@John Mulligan:
Would you prefer a European Expensive Food policy ??? more poor people in Ireland, Europe & World than Farmers.
And if they don’t make money they can always sell their business eg farm but anything from a few 100k to many Millions in the bank & go do something else after all is this a business or a life style.
I guess you don’t want food. And another thing why do people get paid for working can’t everybody work voluntary. I’m taking it that’s what your thinking.
@Elizabeth Barry:
I don’t want expensive Food !!… made expensively so that we can support the life style choice of a Asset wealth elite
If they can’t make a living from farming let them sell up & give young farmers / successful farmers a opportunity & let some else try doing better with that land
I’d like to see how many would become unemployed if there were no farmers in the country. Farmers get the least for their produce. It’s the shops etc that get the most. I’d like farmers to get some respect. Every other sector does with their loss of earnings.
So, you want them to slave so that you can buy food at below the cost of production? That’s not just selfish, and unfair; it’s unsustainable too. And why do you begrudge a farmer earning a wage for a seven day week, but you’re OK with supermarkets squeezing more and more primary producers out of business so that they can maintain their margins? And do you therefore support the slave labour in the UK processing industry that is driven by the supermarkets and their need to provide ever-cheaper food? I want to pay a fair price for food; I don’t want to be the cause of misery and slavery. But you have your own standards obviously.
You up sometimes down other. That’s just the nature of that game.
Thanks Stringer, you’re dead right
Turns or tonnes?
The poor poor farmer. A bunch of layabout grant grabbers a mollycudled lot wrapped in protections even from weather give me a break
@Upowthat Burke: You should be a farmer and then you would know what work was. I take it your on call 7 days a week and 24 hours a day.
Liam Dunne = the most unpopular, bombastic, useless, mouth almighty in IFA!
have your say