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Irish Grassland Association

“To advance the knowledge of good grassland management in Irish farming”

Winter 2017 Issue No. 37

Special focus on farm finances and labour

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Any views or opinions presented in this or any Irish Grassland Association publication are solely those of the author.

Editorial 5

SECTION 1 – EVENTS

AGM Report 6

Lifetime Merit Award 14

Review of Reseeding Event 18

Dates for your diary 2018 21

Dairy Conference 2018 Preview 22

SECTION 2 – FARMER FOCUS

Congratulations to the O’Donnell Family 23

A long road with plenty of twists - Bernard Ging 24

A Year in My Wellies – Lauren Baker 26

A Year in My Wellies – Dwayne Shiels 28

SECTION 3 – MARKET FOCUS ON FARM FINANCES & LABOUR

Market Focus - Presidential Overview 30

Farm Succession & Inheritance 31

Collaborative Farming Options 34

Implications of Budgetary Taxation Changes 37

Farming Companies – The Benefits & Pitfalls 38

Hiring Staff – What do I Need to Know? 40

SECTION 4 – HEALTH & SAFETY

Coping with the Pressures of Farming 42

Farm Safety – A Time for Action 44

Legal Obligations of the Landowner in Maintaining Safe Roadsides 47

Any views or opinions presented in this or any Irish Grassland Association publication are solely those of the author.

Dear Member,

Irish Grassland Association Editorial

I am delighted to welcome you to our Special DoubleEdition of the Irish Grassland Association newsletter and our final edition for 2017! Darren Carty has passed the mantle of editor over to me for the year ahead and I encourage any suggestions you may have on a particular topic or an area you would like an experts’ advice on.

While the past year has been good for some areas of the grassland sector there are parts of the country that struggled with poor growth due to wet weather and this has led to an impending fodder crisis. In an industry where the weather has such enormous influence on production we can only hope that 2018 brings a better year for farming.

In the first section of this issue, we have a full report of our AGM held in the Newpark Hotel, Kilkenny and introduce our new president Jan Jensma plus other new council members. A huge thank you to all our retiring members for their tireless contribution to the various events and publications during their time on council. Past president Andrew Cromie of ICBF was the worthy recipient of this years’ Lifetime Merit Award which was presented to him after the AGM. Photos and an overview of the award is detailed in this section of the newsletter. It was lovely to see Andrews family, friends and colleagues from across the agricultural industry in attendance on the night. It was a great evening that recognised the huge contribution that Andrew has made to the Irish cattle breeding and grassland farming sector.

If you attended the re-seeding event last May you may find the article by Dr. Stan Lalor a good read. Stan paid a visit back to the site of the event that took place on the farm of Donald & Lucy Bateman in May 2017 and gives an interesting account of the findings from the various methods that were displayed on the day. Most importantly it highlights that regardless of the method used in the re-seeding process, sward and animal performance improves with new grass.

Recently retired president Bernard Ging gives us a frank and honest account of his journey into dairying with some helpful messages to those considering entering the sector. We welcome Dwayne Shiels who is our latest contributor to ‘A Year in my Wellies’. Dwayne is an energetic young man who farms pedigree and commercial sheep in Donegal while also studying for his PhD in Athenry!

Our market focus section is on Farm Finances and Labour and we have some excellent feature articles covering important areas that farmers are now facing such as employer responsibilities, succession and inheritance and exploration of collaborative farming options.

In a special section on farmer health and safety, Ciaran Roche of FBD has some stark messages to give. It is truly tragic that 21 people have lost their lives in farming related accidents so far in 2017. This highlights a serious problem in the farming sector and our thoughts are with those families and loved ones left behind as this Christmas will be a difficult one for them. Farm safety requires urgent attention and even if we can simply raise awareness of how to stay safe it might just save another life.

A gentle reminder not to forget to book your tickets for the IGA Annual Dairy Conference taking place on 17th January in Charleville. As always this popular event looks to be a sell out! Our dairy conference sub-committee chaired by Laois farmer Paul Hyland have been hard at work sourcing excellent speakers and promise a lively debate on topical issues surrounding the Irish dairy industry.

Finally, a special note of congratulations to IGA past president Eddie O’Donnell and family on winning the Irish Grassland Farmer of the Year Award recently. This competition recognises those farmers who achieve high levels of grass utilisation in a sustainable manner. Facing off stiff competition, Eddie and his father Denis are well recognised as top dairy and grassland farmers and this win was well deserved!

Beannachtai na NollaigBest wishes for a happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year

Contents

4 5

Rosalyn DrewIGA Honorary Editor

and Nitrofert

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The Irish Grassland Association 2017 AGM took place on the 29th September at the Newpark Hotel Kilkenny. This is the most important event in the Association’s calendar, providing an opportunity for all our members to come along to meet the council and see how the Association works. It is also an opportunity for our members to become involved in the running of the Association. All members are welcome to put their name forward for election onto the council Irish Grassland Association.

There are twenty-one elected voluntary members on the Irish Grassland Association council. An elected term is three years. The incoming President can also co-opt a further three council members to the team to serve for the duration of their presidential term (one year). The Council operates on a voluntary basis to organise the events and activities of the Association throughout the year. At the 2017 AGM, Jan Jensma, Yara was installed as President of the Irish Grassland Association. Ciaran Lynch Teagasc, was installed as the Vice President of the Irish Grassland Association. Rosalyn Drew, Nitrofert, was elected as Honorary Editor responsible for the the Annual Journal and Newsletter.

This year two members were deemed re-elected to the council to serve a second (three year) term: Pat Donnellan, ICBF, and Ronan Delaney, Beef and Sheep Farmer. Three council members were deemed elected onto council following a one-year co-opted term: Christy Watson Teagasc, Mark Maxwell Beef and Sheep Farmer and Stan Lawlor Grassland Agro.

Jan Jensma, Irish Grassland Association President, co-opted Eddie Connell Beef and Sheep Farmer, Fiona McGovern Teagasc and Noreen Lacey AIB Bank to join his team. It is a great reflection of the Association that, so many people are interested in joining our Council.

Many council members retired this year. They were Darren Carty, Irish Farmers Journal, David Cummins, Department of Agriculture, Karen Dukelow, Teagasc, Niall Ryan, Department of Agriculture, Tommy Moyles, Beef Farmer and Kevin Farrell, Beef and Sheep Farmer. These retiring members contributed greatly to the growth of the Association during their time on Council.

Maura Callery IGA Office Manager making a presentation to out going IGA President Bernard Ging

Irish Grassland Association Annual General Meeting 2017

Maura Callery, Irish Grassland Association

Office Manager

Re-elected members to the council for a second 3 year term

Ronan Delaney:Ronan farms with his family at Gaulstown, Dunshaughlin,Co.Meath. He studied agriculture at Warrenstown College, & Writtle University, Essex. He is a full time Sheep & Beef farmer with an emphasis of finishing everything off grass. Ronan runs an agri tourism business with self-catering apartments in a converted stone barn on the farm also. Ronan sits on the council of the Belted Galloway Cattle Society. He writes occasionally for the online edition of the Irish Farmers Journal.

Pat Donnellan:Pat is from Dublin originally but is now living in Cork. He is married to Trish and has 3 girls. Templetuohy in Tipperary and Ballymoe in Galway is where he got his farming backround. Pat enjoys, GAA, Squash, cycling and ICBF Tuesday night soccer! Pat studied Ag.Science in UCD & then did a masters in Animal Breeding in Edinburgh University. He started work with ICBF in 2000, based in their Animal Evaluation Unit. In 2006, ICBF set up the Herdplus service within ICBF. He has been & continues to be heavily involved in this area designing, testing and launching new Beef & Dairy Reports, as well as providing phone support to farmers and presenting at meetings.Pat Donnelan

IGA Council Member and ICBF

Ronan DelaneyIGA Council Member

Sheep and Beef Farmer



Eddie ConnellEddie is farming in Clonbullogue County Offaly in partnership with his son Aidan and his wife Bernadette, they also have two other sons Eamon and David. They farm 90 hectares 25 of which are on a long term lease, their farming system is mainly cattle and sheep with some tillage to produce grain for their own requirements. They have a flock of 350 ewes and sell 560 to 600 lambs through the Offaly Lamb Producer Group. They also buy 150 to 180 weanling bulls 350 to 400 kg mainly in the autumn and finish them, some from the shed in the spring but preferably after getting 100 days at grass or else fed from early September in the shed.

Eddie has been closely involved in policy making with the Offaly group for the past 25 years and served as its Chairman for 5 years. He is also involved with a purchasing group of 35 farmers in Monasterevin Co. Kildare , comprising of tillage, dairy and livestock members who purchase farm imputs, electricity and banking as a group. Eddie’s son Aidan is a great influence and is very innovative on the engineering side always trying new ideas to make life simpler and safer around the farm. He won the top prize in labour saving competition in Tullamore show in 2015 with a fast simple system of splitting paddocks which we use to great effect at home.

Fiona McGovernGrowing up on a mixed drystock farm in, Fiona has always had a huge interest in Agriculture. She graduated with a degree in Agricultural Science (B. Agr. Sc.) from University College Dublin in 2012, and was awarded a Scholarship to complete her PhD which she completed in 2015. Her thesis focused on ewe nutrition throughout late pregnancy and the subsequent impact on both ewe and progeny performance in the post-partum period. Upon completion of her PhD she began working as a post-doctoral researcher with Teagasc, based in Mellows Campus, Athenry.

The primary focus of my Post-Doctoral research work with Teagasc is on sheep genetic evaluations and the across country comparison of Irish versus New Zealand sheep genetics (more commonly known as the INZAC flock). The overall objective of the project is to compare Irish versus New Zealand genetically elite animals and to validate the Irish €uro-star genetic index for sheep, generated via Sheep Ireland. The importance of grassland management and the impact of genetic merit on grass utilisation and animal performance are major focus areas within the INZAC study. Her work with Teagasc, in conjunction to actively running a sheep and beef farm in Co.Mayo, continually highlights the importance of grass towards achieving a profitable and sustainable farming enterprise.

Dr Mary McEvoyFrom Co. Wicklow, Mary McEvoy is Technical Development Manager with Germinal, suppliers of grass and forage seeds. Following her bachelor degree in Agricultural Science in UCD in 2005, Mary undertook a PhD with Teagasc Moorepark which focussed on examining the influence of animal, sward and management factors on the performance of dairy cows at pasture. Subsequently, in 2008 she took up a position as Researcher with the Grassland Science team in Teagasc Moorepark. There her research focus included the development of the Pasture Profit Index, examining plant/animal interactions which influence animal performance and investigating the effect of management on sward performance. Mary joined Germinal in 2014 where she is responsible for customer training and education, organising farm demonstrations, monitoring variety performance and advising grass breeders on the development of new varieties.

Noreen LaceyA native of Laois, Noreen comes from a dairy background and is now living and farming in South Kilkenny, where she is also National Agribusiness Development Manager with AIB. Noreen, holds a degree in Agricultural Science from UCD in 1998 and a degree in Business Studies (Marketing Management) from IPA in 2003. In 1998, she joined Glanbia, working in the Agribusiness Division, initially as a technical sales representative and then as Branch Manager of Ballyragget Agribusiness store. In 2002, she joined ACCBank as an Agri Advisor and progressed to Senior Agri Banking Manager and remained in ACCBank for 12 years. In 2014, Noreen joined AIB where she leads the implementation of a National Agri Business development programme at both national and regional level.

Matt O’ KeeffeMatt is a dairy farmer involved in a three-way milk production partnership. He is also the editor of the Irish Farmers Monthly. Matt is the presenter and producer of a farmshow on KCLR (Kilkenny/Carlow Local Radio).

Previously Matt was the National President of Macra na Feirme. He was Chairman of the FAB (Farm Apprenticeship Board). Matt was also Vice-chairman IFA National Dairy Committee and a Member of the Kilkenny Enterprise Board.

Welcome to our New President Jan Jensma

I am originally from Co Meath but now live just outside Ardee in Co Louth. I am married to Jenny and have 2 young children. I work for Yara Fertilisers as an area manager in Ireland. I am part of a team that are responsible for developing Yara’s market share in the Republic of Ireland as well as maintaining the strong market share that they have in Northern Ireland. I am a graduate of Agricultural Engineering from Silsoe College in the UK and have worked exclusively in agriculture since graduating. After graduating I was based in Scotland working for Reekie Manufacturing and travelled extensively throughout Europe and further afield. From my travel throughout my early work life I got to experience agriculture on many continents and in varying scale and I have used this experience throughout my career. In 2001 I returned home to Ireland and since then I have worked in agricultural retail and wholesale supply before starting with Yara in 2012.

In my spare time I enjoy getting out with my camera and I have recently got more active in aerial photography. It has allowed me to view landscapes and farming operations that cannot be captured from the ground. I have been fortunate to have some of my pictures published in a national newspaper as well as at a local photography exhibition.

Some of Jan’s aerial photographs

Welcome to our new Council Members

Maura CalleryOffice Manager

Ciaran LynchVice president 2017-18

and Teagasc

Jan Jensmapresident 2017-18

YARA


Alan KellyIGA Council Member

and UCD

Christy WatsonIGA Council Member

and Teagasc

Austin FlavinIGA Council Member

and Teagasc

Brian NicolsonIGA Council Member

and Sheep farmer

Cathal McCormackIGA Council Member

and Alltech

Pat DonnellanIGA Council Member

and ICBF

Paul HylandIGA Council Member

and Dairy Farmer

Stan LalorIGA Council Member

Grassland Agro

Laurence SextonIGA Council Member

and Dairy Farmer

Mark MaxwellIGA Council Member

and Beef Farmer

Ronan DelaneyIGA Council Member

Sheep and Beef Farmer

Michael BatemanIGA Council Member

Dairy Farmer

Emer KennedyIGA Council Member Teagasc Moorepark

George RamsbottomIGA Council Member

and Teagasc

Rosalyn DrewIGA Council Member

Nitrofert

Bernard Gingpast president 2016-17

Dairy Farmer

New faces on council

Adam WoodsVice President 2016-17Irish Farmers Journal

Mary McEvoyDeemed elected onto the

council

Matt O’KeeffeDeemed elected onto the

council

Noreen LaceyCo-opted onto the council Jan Jensma IGA President

Fiona McGovernCo-opted onto the council Jan Jensma IGA President

Eddie ConnellCo-opted onto the council Jan Jensma IGA President

Irish Grassland Association 2017 – 2018

Bernard Ging IGA Past President, Jan Jensma IGA President, Maura Callery IGA Office Manager, Ciaran Lynch IGA Vice Presidnent at the IGA AGM

Newly elected members Retiring council members


Darren CartyIrish Farmers Journal

David CumminsCrop Evaluation and Certification, Dept. of

Agriculture

Karen DukelowPast President 2015-16Teagasc Beef Specialist

Kevin FarrellBeef and Sheep Farmer

Tommy MoylesBeef Farmer

Niall RyanCrop Evaluation and Certification, Dept. of

Agriculture


Mary McEvoyDeemed elected onto the

council

Matt O’KeeffeDeemed elected onto the

council

Noreen LaceyCo-opted onto the council Jan Jensma IGA President

Fiona McGovernCo-opted onto the council Jan Jensma IGA President

Eddie ConnellCo-opted onto the council Jan Jensma IGA President

Re-elected members The IGA are delighted that the following members are remaining on the council.

Jan Jensma welcoming the new members to the IGA council at the IGA AGMJan Jensma thanking Darren Carty for his time on council

Christy WatsonDeemed elected following a

1 Year co-opted term

Pat DonnellanDeemed elected following

completion of a full 3 year term

Stan LalorDeemed elected following a

1 Year co-opted term

Mark MaxwellDeemed elected following a

Year co-opted term

Ronan DelaneyDeemed elected following

completion of a full 3 year term

At the Irish Grassland Association (IGA) AGM Jan Jensma President of the IGA made a special presentation to Darren Carty on his retirement from the council. Darren served two terms (totalling six years) on the council of the IGA holding positions as sheep chairman and Honorary Editor. Darren is a livestock specialist in the Irish Farmers Journal working in the sheep and beef sectors. Areas focused on include technical features, grassland management, herd health, breeding and domestic and global market analysis. Darren holds an honours degree in Animal Science from University College Dublin. Previous to joining the Farmers Journal he worked as a Teagasc adviser in Galway. He hails from a suckler and sheep farm in county Galway. We wish Darren every success in his retirement from council. He was a very tireless, selfless, motivated and dedicated council member.

Thanking retiring membersThe Irish Grassland Association is a voluntary organisation that is indebted to farmers and industry personnel that so kindly give their time to ensure the organisation keeps progressing forward.

and welcoming new facesIrish Grassland Association Councillor Members generally serve on the council for one or two (three-year) terms.



Presentation of the 2017 Lifetime Merit Award to Dr Andrew Cromie Pat Donnellan

IGA Council Member

The 2017 Irish Grassland Association Lifetime Merit Award was presented to Dr Andrew Cromie at a function in the Newpark Hotel Kilkenny on Friday the 29th of September 2017. Andrew was joined by members of his family, past & present work colleagues and those he worked with in the agricultural breeding industry. Also present was the council of the Irish Grassland Association. Andrew was an extremely worthy recipient. Jan Jensma, President of the IGA, presented him with the Lifetime Merit Award.

Following completion of his Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree from Queens University, Andrew specialised in Animal Breeding at Edinburgh University, before completing his doctorate at UCD. Andrew has been with ICBF right from the start in 1999 and has covered many different areas of work in ICBF over the years however the one common thread has been the high level of innovation that he has brought to many different areas that he touched. The following are a few of the key areas that Andrew has been heavily involved in over the years

1. Animal Events (animal registration recording system).

2. The ICBF Cattle Breeding Database.

3. EBI – The early years of ICBF were defined by the development of the dairy breeding index (EBI).

4. Gene Ireland – Alongside the development of the EBI Dairy Index a new national progeny test program was established which focussed on ensuring that it was mainly Irish bred bulls that went on progeny test in Ireland.

5. €uro-Stars – Similar to EBI – ICBF set about creating a beef index for all commercial and pedigree animals that was tailored to the various beef systems in Ireland.

6. Interbull & Interbeef - These are international organisations at which Ireland is represented by ICBF. It is through these groups that data gets shared between countries.

7. Sexed Semen Project.

8. Genomics & the BDGP Scheme.

9. Irish Grassland Association – Andrew sat on the IGA Council for 6 years, including a term as President where he was recognised for his ‘vision, leadership and work ethic’. He was heavily involved in introducing new initiatives to the IGA which in turn revolutionised how the Organisation operated. This included initiatives such as sub committees, RDO’s and employing a new Office Manager.

Although, the majority of Andrew’s work has been rooted in the cattle breeding industry, the positive impact felt by farmers from having more profitable livestock to work with has had beneficial knock on effects in other areas of their farming enterprises and ultimately to their farming livelihoods.

The event and presentation of the IGA Lifetime Merit Award is recognition by the IGA of the contribution that Andrew Cromie has made to the Irish grassland farming sector and he is a very worthy recipient.

Andrew Cromie and his family at the Lifetime Merit Award Ceremony, Newpark Hotel, Kilkenny

Jan Jensma IGA President awarding the Lifetime Merit Award 2017 to Dr. Andrew Cromie

Nominations sought for the Irish Grassland Association Lifetime Merit Award 2018

Maura Callery, Irish Grassland Association Office Manager


Paddy O’KeeffeAward Winner 2009

Dr. Sean FlanaganAward Winner 2010

Dr. Padraig O’KielyAward Winner 2011

Norman BatemanAward Winner 2012

Dr Seamus HanrahanAward Winner 2013

Matt DempseyAward Winner 2014

John ShirleyAward Winner 2015

Noel Culleton Award Winner 2016

Andrew Cromie Award Winner 2017


The Irish Grassland Association Lifetime Merit Award was established in 2009 to acknowledge the unique life contribution of an individual to the understanding and application of grassland husbandry and technology. This prestigious award is a public endorsement on behalf of our Association and its members, to the great and important contribution made by the recipient to our industry and lives. Previous winners of this award are Paddy O’Keeffe, Sean Flanagan, Padraig O’Kiely, Norman Bateman, Seamus Hanrahan, Matt Dempsey, John Shirley, Noel Culleton and Andrew Cromie. We are now seeking nominations for the 2018 Lifetime Merit Award. If you would like more information on this award please contact Maura on 087 9626483. If you would like to nominate a person for the award please email your nomination to [email protected] before 3rd April 2018.

Lifetime Merit Award Recipients

18

Irish Grassland Association Reseeding Event ... 5 months on…

Stan LalorIGA Council Member

Grassland Agro

IrIsh Grassland assoCIatIon - newsletter wInter 201719

IrIsh Grassland assoCIatIon - newsletter wInter 2017

The farm of Donald and Lucy Bateman, in Ballylooby near Cahir in Co. Tipperary was the host site for the Irish Grassland Association Reseeding event on 17 May 2017. In this article, we review the event and report on the progress of the reseed during its first year.

The Host SiteThe Bateman’s reseeded 20 acres of their grazing block in April 2017. The event took place four weeks after the seeds were set, and gave the crowd an opportunity to see the reseed after emergence.

On 25 March, the field was grazed as part of the first round of grazing. The field was sprayed off with Round-up on 3 April and grazed by the herd on 10 April.

Two tonnes per acre of lime was spread on 15 April and seeds were set on 18 April followed by a roller. The larger of the two fields was done with a power harrow and direct drill. This is a normal method used by the Bateman’s on their farm. In a smaller field at the site, a comparison of this system with direct drilling using an Einbock tine harrow with air seeder and a Moore Uni-Drill was on show.

The soil fertility was high Index 3 for P and on the margin of Index 2 and 3 for K. Two bags/acre of 0-7-30 were applied two days after sowing. No nitrogen was applied in the seedbed as the area had received urea earlier in the spring, but it received a top dressing of nitrogen after 5 weeks.

existing grass, as it needs to grow leaves and roots, so soil fertility is extra important. Soils at Index 3 should get 30 kg/ha of phosphorus (P) and 50 kg/ha of potassium (K) at sowing along with 30 kg/ha of nitrogen and a further 30 kg/ha of nitrogen after emergence. The role of sulphur (S) was also discussed: 5 kg/ha of S should be spread in the first six weeks after sowing, either as part of the NPK compound in the seed bed, or else with the N in the top-dressing.

Nicky Byrne discussed grass variety selection at the second stand. Nicky is a researcher on the on-farm grass evaluation study being run by Teagasc in Moorepark. He outlined the big variation between grass varietal performance on farms and that farmers should choose varieties that score highly on the Pasture Profit Index.

Also at the second board, George Ramsbottom from Teagasc discussed the grazing management of reseeds post-sowing. For the first grazing, Donald said that his preference is to graze the reseeds with the milking cows when they are at a cover of about 700 kg/ha, which is a very light grazing. When asked why he doesn’t wait longer, he said that the sooner they are grazed the more they will tiller. He prefers to go in with the cows rather than lighter stock because they can get it grazed off quickly. Calves would have to spend a few weeks grazing the reseeds and that would mean missing the chance to graze them at the right cover.

Chris Maughan from Whelehan Crop Protection spoke at the third stop about weed control when reseeding. He said the first thing to do is to burn off the existing vegetation. Chris said most farmers will spray with glyphosate (e.g. Roundup) and wait five days before grazing or cutting. He also said that cutting the sprayed grass for silage is becoming more popular, but you must be prepared to cut it when it is at the right stage, and sometimes the weather can be a problem.

Chris went on to say that the longer the sprayed field is left before cultivating the better. He suggests at least two weeks, but by right established docks will need up to five weeks for the spray to penetrate all the root. However, he said that this is usually not practical. Post-emergence, he said docks are the biggest problem. A post-emergence dock spray should be used on all reseeds. Timing is critical. The best time to kill the docks is at the seedling stage. In many cases, new reseeds have seedling docks but also re-established docks from root shards that didn’t get fully killed by the glyphosate. Chris said that from the grass point of view, the best time to spray is when the third leaf of the grass seedling is out.

Cultivation methodsThe results of three different sowing methods were on show at the event. These were the one-pass or power

harrow and seed drill combination, the Einbock tine harrow with air seeder and the Moore Unidrill. All methods were used on the one day on 18 April. The weather between sowing at the event had been exceptionally dry so all three reseeds are behind on where one might expect them to be.

John Maher from Teagasc went through the different cultivation methods on the day. He said that at this stage (i.e. 4 weeks after sowing) a well-established reseed should see a seedling within 4 inches of another seedling. He said that over time more seeds will germinate, and the germinated plants will tiller out. John said that all three methods had seedlings within 4 inches of each other, but that the Einbock seedlings had germinated later so were smaller than the seedlings in the other plots.

On the day, the seedling from the one-pass and Moore Unidrill appeared to be at a more advanced stage of growth compared with the Einbock. From a distance, you would think there were no seeds up that were sown by the Einbock, but when you looked closely, you could see that the seeds had germinated.

There were also differences between the one-pass and Moore Unidrill plots. The seeds sown by the Moore Unidrill emerged in lines, as the drill

The EventThe topics covered at the event included the decision-making process for reseeding, soil fertility, grass variety selection, weed control and cultivation methods. The main item on show was the demonstration of the cultivation methods which had been prepared in advance of the event.

The host farmer Donald Bateman welcomed the large crowd at the first stand and along with his local Teagasc advisor, James Mullane, he outlined the reasons why he decided to reseed this year. The poor performance of the fields, as recorded on Pasture Base, was a key factor for the decision. Typical total reseeding costs come to about e302/acre for reseeding. Payback based on advantages of higher overall farm productivity, increased grass growth and better response to fertiliser were all highlighted.

The first question asked at the event was why Donald didn’t plough the field. His response was that firstly, the fields didn’t need ploughing with no obvious humps or hollows that needed correcting. Secondly, he doesn’t like the work of picking stones after ploughing and finally, he has used minimum cultivation techniques before and likes them. He said he is also concerned about the risk of ploughing down nutrients when ploughing.

Stan Lalor from Grassland Agro and IGA council member also spoke at the first board about the importance of soil fertility at reseeding. A key message was that a new reseed must work twice as hard as

Our host family, the Batemans

Donald Bateman Host Farmer, Bernard Ging IGA Past President and Jim Gibbons ISTA Event Sponsor



sows the seed in a slot. While there was similar number of seeds germinated, the fact that they are sown in lines probably means that they will have to work harder to tiller out. The seedlings from the one-pass method looked more spread out.

Long-term result of the cultivation methodsThe photograph shows the site of the cultivation demonstration taken in early October. No discernible differences could be seen in the field between the three methods at this stage, in terms of either grass cover, tiller numbers, or lines in the grass.

Reseed performanceThe Bateman’s have been recording grass growth on Pasture Base in the reseeded fields as normal. In 2016, the reseeded area grew 14 t/ha, which was behind the whole farm average of 15 t/ha. In addition to below average growth, Donald was continuously noticing that the cow milk yield was dropping when they grazed that area.

Following the reseed in April, Donald is predicting that the area will reach 15 t/ha growth in 2017. While this is still behind the whole farm average which he expects to be 15.75 t/ha, it still reflects a high performance from the new grass. Before spraying off, this area was a full 1 t/ha behind the growth of the rest of the farm. This area also missed a significant growth window during the reseeding process, so to be still reaching 15 t/ha of total growth for the year has been a good performance. In addition to being very happy with the grass growth, Donald has also noticed that the cow performance impact when grazing the older grasses is no longer an issue. Overall, a good success!

Cultivation Demonstration site in Early October 2017, five months after the reseed.

Moore Uni-drill (Courtesy of Jim Ryan Contracting Services Ltd)

Power Harrow with Direct Drill (Courtesy of Kilcommon Agri Contracting Ltd)

Einbock Tine Harrow with Air Seeder (Courtesy of Teagasc Moorepark)

dates for your diary 2018

Dairy ConferenceWednesday 17th January

Sheep Conference and Farm Walk22nd May 2018

Beef Conference and Farm Walk24th May 2018

Dairy Summer Tour24th July 2018

Annual General Meeting6th September 2018

Student Conference and Farm Walk8th October 2018

Networking Evening & DinnerTuesday 16th January

Topical Event25th April

Kindly Sponsored by


sold out

Congratulations to IGA Past President Eddie O’Donnell and family on winning the Irish Grassland Farmer of the Year Award recently.

This competition recognises those farmers who achieve high levels of grass utilisation in a sustainable manner. Facing off stiff competition, Eddie and his father Denis are well recognised as top

dairy and grassland farmers and this win was well deserved.

C

ONGRATULATIONS



IGA Annual Dairy Conference 2018

Paul Hyland, Conference Chairman and Dairy Farmer and

George Ramsbottom, Conference Committee Member and Teagasc

The 2018 Irish Grassland Association Annual Dairy Conference sponsored by Yara takes place on Wednesday 17th January. Moving to the south west of the country, the Charleville Park Hotel plays host to this year’s Conference. The event addresses the twin themes of managing labour and resetting financial and physical targets on Irish dairy farms.

The abolition of milk quotas has resulted in the rapid expansion in the Irish dairy industry. One in four farms now milk more than 100 dairy cows. The average herd size on these farms is 175 cows. Such rapid expansion is creating employment opportunities and challenges with many dairy farmers needing to either contract out more of the work, become employers for the first time or increase the size of their workforce. With labour and land now the new limits to expansion, the time is now ripe to review and reset the physical and financial measures for grass based dairy farm businesses.

The Conference is divided into three parts: • How the workload is currently being managed

on commercial dairy farms;

• Why the need to update the physical and financial targets for spring calving herds;

• How experienced employers manage to attract and retain their workforce.

Managing labour requirement on grass-based dairy farms: David Kerr and Kevin Aherne will describe how they operate their dairy farms; what work they do themselves; and which tasks they employ contractors to complete on their dairy farms. David farms near Ballyfin and was one of the two

hosts of the 2014 IGA dairy summer tour. Since the tour, he has increased the size of his dairy herd from 120 to 160 dairy cows. Kevin farms at Shinagh Dairy Farm Bandon running a 230 cow start-up dairy farm. In a follow on from his recent labour workshops, Teagasc dairy specialist Pat Clarke will review a dairy farmer labour survey and identify the characteristics of the most labour efficient farms.

Identifying and re-setting dairy targets for the future: Michael Bateman will outline the rationale for changing and identify the most appropriate measures of dairy farm physical and financial performance in the current era. He will be followed by Moorepark’s Laurence Shalloo who will explain the assumptions underpinning Teagasc’s dairy net profit target of €2,500 per hectare for spring milk producers.

Discussing the labour issue: Pat Dillon will describe his approach to attracting and managing staff at Moorepark. Then Pat will join Waterford farmers Pat Ryan, Cappagh and Esther Walsh, Tourin Farms, in a panel discussion chaired by Jack Kennedy, Assistant Editor of the Irish Farmers’ Journal on attracting the best and getting the most out of their staff.

Booking the ConferenceOnline booking is the quickest method to secure your tickets (and you will also avail of the best discounts available). The IGA website can be accessed at www.irishgrassland.com. Alternatively you can post the completed Conference application form and your cheque to: IGA office, Cookstown, Kells Co. Meath or call Maura on 087 9626483.

We would like to thank our sponsors YARA for their continued support

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A long road with plenty of twists

I have just completed a hugely enjoyable and memorable year as president of the Irish Grassland Association. The job meant I was busy but I met lots of people who I count very influential in farming, both in Ireland and abroad.

I joined the council of the IGA in 2008 as a beef and sheep farmer and I will retire next year as a fully converted dairy farmer. My farming career has been mostly traditional in nature. After I did my leaving cert, I then completed a Green Cert and a diploma in horticulture which involved nine months’ work placement in the UK. When I completed the diploma I returned home to the farm which was a combination of suckler-to-weanling and tillage enterprises, never again to think of my horticulture qualifications.

I was blessed to have very forward thinking parents and by the time I turned 22, they had entered into a Department of Agriculture-led Early Retirement Scheme. From then on I was in control. I discussed all major decisions with them but ultimately they left the final decision to me. They were both passionate farmers all their lives

and have passed away in recent years. I miss their knowledge and passion.

Almost everyone has an acquaintance or neighbour who has converted to dairy farming in recent years. People convert their farms to dairying for different reasons. In 2009 after doing my Teagasc E-profit monitor and household budgets, I had to face the realisation that I could not continue as I had been for many reasons. Besides the obvious financial ones, I also had a young family who needed my time. My parents were getting older, as was I, and could not continue with the workload.

Life ambitionsMy biggest goal in life was that I could continue to be a full time farmer. So, after much investigation

Bernard Ging,Past President 2016-17

Dairy Farmer

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and deliberation we applied for planning for a milking parlour and by late 2011 I milked my first cow ever and that was in my own parlour! There are many conversion blueprints if a farmer wishes to use them now. However, in 2010 there had been very few farms converted to dairying in almost a decade and most of the advice was based on production models rather than actual figures. I am not saying these models were wrong but when you can talk to a farmer who is a number of years into a greenfield conversion and see the things they have done correctly, and equally important the things they might change, it makes it easier to get the full picture.

So now that I am coming to the end of my sixth year as a dairy farmer I suppose I am stretching it a bit to still call myself a new entrant. Looking back at what my aspirations were in 2009, I can say most of them have been fulfilled. Cash flow has increased substantially, however farm borrowings have also increased. My lifestyle has stabilised. We are fortunate enough to have a good employee which means that I get time off and things are reasonably structured.

Dairy stock are a lot easier to handle and herd and there is less very heavy work around calving time. On the negative side I find it a lonelier lifestyle. Morning and evening milking’s are busy for a dairy farmer in his milking parlour. When we have time to stand for a minute during the day most people are at work and children are at school. To try and overcome this I attend as many discussion group meetings and other events as possible. The IGA has been very beneficial in this area as there is both an educational side and a social aspect to the organisation.

People ask me what advice I would give someone entering into dairy farming. I suppose my few words

Former IGA President Bernard Ging gives his experience of his farming life, which includes the big change from suckler and sheep to milking 185 cows in 2018.

“I had to face the realisation that I could not continue as I had been for many reasons. Besides the obvious financial ones, I also had a young family who needed my time”

would be:

• Think and plan big. This costs very little but can make future expansion easy and cost effective.

• Pay for your advice. If I am paying someone for advice they should only be thinking of my needs. If someone is giving me advice but being paid by someone else then they put that person first.

• Be realistic with your budgets and with how much you can do yourself. Know your strengths and weaknesses.

• Pick a dairy farmer mentor as opposed to visiting lots of farms which can lead to confusion.

Today we are milking 155 cows and have 185 scanned in calf for next year. I am in the process of building my first cubicle shed. I try to keep a focus on our farming targets which is to make a profit out of the land. So, I grow as much grass as possible and convert it to milk as cheaply as possible, thus maximising my income.


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A Year in my WelliesIntroductionI am currently working in Birr on my parents leased dairy farm. We peaked this year with 440 cows and plan to increase numbers next spring. I have worked at home all year alongside my parents David and Tory and my partner Jeremy and now Jeremy and I are about to embark on two months travelling. He will return in January for spring 2018 and I have decided next year to broaden my skills in the wider industry. I feel the experience I have gained in the dairy industry will be invaluable to me in my career going forward and I have really enjoyed the practical side of dairying.

Farm updateWeather conditions have not been ideal for us over the past few weeks in particular last week with hurricane Ophelia and storm Brian hitting most of the country very hard. However, the main herd are still grazing outside day and night, the backfence and correct allocation of grass is the main reason we have been able to prevent damage. We have been going into covers of approximately 2,000 kg DM/ha and the cows have been continually taking them down to a residual of 4 cm. To calculate the area for the breaks we are using the GPS Field Area Measure app which we find highly effective to get very accurate break sizes. Grass is being allocated in 12 hour breaks and all young stock are on 24 hour breaks to prevent wastage of grass and poaching.

Cows were all body condition scored two weeks ago and any light early calvers have been put on once a day and kept near the parlour to prevent long walks. We feel the long walks do the most damage to the cows that are under pressure and we hope that without the walks and with only being milked once a day, we will be able to get them to the correct body condition score in time for calving.

Our target is to milk 470 cows next year. The increase in number is to allow for Jeremy to have his own cows in the herd. On a 141 hectare platform this will take our stocking rate from 3 to over 3.3. Although this seems like quite a large jump in stocking rate and we are conscious that this has been an exceptional year for grass growing, we benefit from the use of callow lands during the summer months which enlarges our grazing platform.

This year, despite hitting the March 1st and Paddys day grazing targets we didn’t finish our first round, we skipped a paddock at the start of the second round, and meal was taken out at the end of March and stayed out all summer. We also cut our fertiliser back to 20 units and cut winter feed from our grazing platform this summer. We are currently only milking 10 rows so having an extra row won’t put too long onto our milkings. With the higher stocking rate it will become more important to get rid of empty cows and culls in early autumn to protect grass. Next year we are going to concentrate on driving profit

Lauren Baker, Killeen, Birr, Co Offaly.

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by producing higher solids per hectare without increasing bought in feeds and trying to put less focus on yield per cow.

As we are increasing our stocking rate, we have been aiming for 70% grazed before November 1st in order to have enough grass growing back for the increased number of cows in the spring. We are currently on target for the 70%. Doing grass walks every four to five days and keeping a very close eye on our autumn feed budget allows us to readjust if our cover is dropping below target. We have been feeding out silage in paddocks to slow the round up and build cover for the last number of weeks.

I find with the autumn months there is an

acceleration in the workload as we prepare for the dry period. The strict following of the autumn feed budget, 12 hour breaks for cows, strip grazing and back fencing of young stock (young stock are on two different out blocks which adds to the workload), dark cold mornings and dark evenings increases the pressure. I find it’s very important to disperse the workload evenly between the team and we are all very conscious of our time management skills and efficiency so that everyone is still getting home for dinner at 6pm at the very latest.

Prior to leaving, we have been doing as much as we can to assist in the handover. We are disappointed not to be around for the year end financial analysis but I’m sure we will be informed even when we’re overseas!


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A Year in my WelliesFarming a lowland sheep flock just outside Letterkenny, with my father George and brother Gerard. I am also a second year PhD student with Teagasc Athenry, SRUC in Scotland and the University of Edinburgh. I’m carrying out research on ewe and lamb behaviours in the periparturient period, and their effects on lamb mortality and subsequent lamb performance.

The flock at home is split into three. Firstly, a pedigree Texel flock, which myself and Gerard established in December 2015 with the purchase of 5 in-lamb ewes. Through buying at the premier sale in Blessington and importing ewes from the top flocks in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, and jointly purchasing two rams this autumn we are happy with how the flock is expanding. The ewes were artificially inseminated on the 5th of September, the majority were to the two rams purchased, and the remainder were from purchased frozen semen. We look forward to lambing which will take place in the first week of February, with an added bonus of 14 grade 1 embryos following the successful flush and embryo transfer from two of our ewes, into recipient mothers.

Our aim is to produce top quality ram lambs for both the commercial and pedigree market, concentrating on carcass, correctness, tight skins and size to meet consumer demands. The three sales proved successful for our society in Donegal this year with exceptional prices and a great clearance of rams. I have accepted the role of PRO for the Donegal Texel society for the coming year. The society is going from

strength to strength with a great team of council members and breeders who are clearly producing what the farmer requires. We are enthusiastic to build on this year’s sales going into the future.

The second flock is 150 pure bred Milford ewes. The Milford is a maternal breed which were developed by crossing Border Leister rams on the Scotch type Perth ewe, with Cheviot and Suffolk genetics also added as the breed developed. The ewes have been bred pure for the last 50 – 60 years and are now a purebred composite breed. These ewes possess excellent prolificacy, exceptional ease of lambing and mothering ability. This results in the ideal ewe when crossed with any terminal bred ram, providing lambs with lots of vigour that are quick to their feet and suck with minimal assistance required. These ewes are currently being flushed on after grass and will begin to lamb from the 25th of March. With my grandfather’s 50 years of breeding, and through careful selection, we are breeding both males and females that are fetching top prices.

The Milford Sheep Breeders Society was established last autumn, and had their second annual sale on the 3rd of September. The quality of stock offered at the sale was a credit to all breeders, with hogget ewes topping at €315 and ewe lambs peaking at €255. As current chairman of the society I am very optimistic of what lies ahead for the breed. We have all our ewe lambs sold for this year, and sold a small selection of hogget ewes at the sale. There has also been a remarkable demand for rams this year, with

Dwayne Shiels, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal

the breeding growing in popularity and receiving excellent publicity through the prices received. This year, to date, I have 25 ram lambs and 5 shearlings sold for both purebred and commercial breeding.

Finally, we have a small flock of commercial Suffolk x Texel ewes. These are used mainly for producing excellent quality factory lambs, and lambs which we take to commercial shows during the summer. The showing helps to get the flock name out there and allows potential customers to see your stock. We enjoyed a very successful year showing with all three flocks getting multiple overall show championships, and we look forward to next summer’s shows. Having seen the advantages of paddock systems while at Teagasc Athenry, we have started to split paddocks using temporary electric fencing. This has proven to be a great help, both in lamb performance and in grassland management. This has resulted in all the commercial lambs having either been drafted for the factory or sold for breeding, solely from grass this summer.

It has been a very good year for grass growth on the farm, with strong covers built up over August and September, and the first field now closed (8th of October) for the Texel ewes and recipients to be turned out to with lambs in early spring. Farm yard manure will be applied to this field in the next week if weather permits. I have also taken the opportunity to send 140 ewes away for winter grazing to a local beef finishing farm. These will return for housing in mid- December, which will allow the grazing period of the ewes left at home to be extended and allow for the closing of paddocks on target. The haylage was saved in excellent condition in late June. It was cut, tedded 4 times and baled dry.

It has been a very busy autumn so far at home. Dad and Gerard have been busy preparing rams for the pedigree sales and ewe lambs and hogget’s for the

breeding sales, while also starting our breeding programme. This involved preparing ewes for artificial insemination and the two show ewes for flushing and embryo transfer. As I only get home at weekends we try to get as much work fitted into the weekend as possible. This last month we were busy washing and disinfecting sheds, putting out the last of the fertiliser, while also carrying out some general fencing and maintenance jobs in the lead up to housing again. Last weekend all ewes were crutched and also received a fluke dose and given a cobalt, iodine and selenium bolus in the run up to mating.

Ploughing has taken up a lot of time this year. The Donegal Ploughing Association has had two matches so far this year and I have competed in both, getting on very well on both occasions. This was my second year as a member of the Donegal team that represented the county at the National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Co. Offaly in September. This year I was delighted to the win the Novice Conventional Senior Grade class, a very strongly contested class with some excellent competitors from across the country. The county was very well represented across many classes taking home a further two seconds, two thirds, a fourth and a fifth and the loy diggers taking home three firsts and a second. It was a great end to a very successful Ploughing Championship that saw record breaking crowds. The awards banquet was held in early October in Tullamore and finished off what was a great year. It was also announced that next year’s championships will be returning to Offaly. I look forward to the remainder of the county matches and hope to get the chance to compete again next year at the National Championships.

I’d like to thank the Irish Grassland Association for the opportunity to write this article and hope you enjoyed reading it.


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Market Focus - Presidential Overview

Jan JensmaPresident 2017-18

YARA

As we approach the end of the year and animals are being housed, we have more time to think about other parts of the farm business besides grassland management. In this market focus section of the newsletter we have decided to highlight some of the things we feel that should be taken into account over the coming months.

Some of the things that we feel should be considered include factors that shouldn’t be overlooked when taking on new or additional staff, regardless if they are full time or part time. Is changing the farm into a limited company the right decision for you? Succession planning of the farm and finally maintaining the boundary of the farm to avoid risk to members of the public.

Labour on farm is becoming a major talking point and will become more prevalent for a lot of farmers as extra staff are needed coming into the spring. This is something that we are not only discussing here in the newsletter but is also a topic we will discuss at the dairy conference in January.

Training staff that have recently been taken on is a time consuming process so you want to make sure you only have to do it once. Solicitor Aisling Meehan has some very practical advice for employers when taking on staff. She suggests things like checking references and giving new staff a probationary period as ways of ensuring that you have taken on the person that you expected to have. Providing staff with an environment that they are happy to work in is vital if you are to have any success in keeping them long term and is another one of the topics that will be discussed at length during the dairy conference.

With potential tax bills coming soon, there has been a lot of discussion recently about moving farms into a limited company. In this

focus section, Peter Young of the Irish Farmers Journal explains how farmers shouldn’t be blinkered by the considerably lower tax rate of a limited company as a reason to change because the structure of a limited company won’t suit everyone. A worthwhile process to go through would be to list the reasons as to why this system would NOT suit you instead of listing the reasons why you should.

Succession planning is something that needs to be considered on every farm, and the sooner planning starts the better. Frequently succession is viewed as something that happens at the end of a farming career and is regularly confused with farm transfer or inheritance. Ann Kinsella, economist with Teagasc discusses the importance of having an inheritance and succession plan. While Tom Curran outlines the various collaborative farming options that farmers can consider when drawing up their future plan for the farm. Succession is the gradual transfer of management and can take many forms as is outlined by Tom in a very interesting piece.

Solicitor Oliver Holohan highlights to us the legal responsibilities that landowners have in keeping their property maintained in the interest of public safety. Regardless of whether you are renting or if you own the land you farm, keeping people safe needs to be priority. After the storms of recent past we need to consider the implications on landowners or occupiers with property bordering a public road. That property can be a building or tree which can become a hazard if not looked after properly. Maintenance of hedge rows, trees and grass verges is vital if any unnecessary accidents are to be avoided. Drains running along a road should also not be over looked to ensure that they do not flood onto a public road.

Farm succession and inheritance, the different perspectives - is it the same the world over?

The process of farm succession and inheritance is highly complex involving a range of individuals, from family members to professionals providing advice on legal and financial matters. Farm transfers impacts on not only the farmer and their successor but on the wider family group. It may even lead to a change in the family dynamic, forever!

The Irish are not alone in how they deal with this issue. In most European countries the family farm model is the predominant form of ownership, with farm transfer commonly taking place via intergenerational transfers. Much research has been undertaken internationally into this issue which is crucial to the survival and future prosperity of the agricultural sector.

Succession and inheritance are terms often used in tandem, but there are distinctions. Inheritance, the predominant means of entering farming and attaining farm ownership, denotes the legal transfer of ownership of the business assets. Succession, which can be a gradual process, refers to the transfer of managerial control over the use of the assets.

Factors affecting the decision to transfer can be both social and economic. Many transfers occur when

the incumbent farmer reaches retirement age, an age that is very open-ended. While ensuring family members are catered for, economic concerns also have strong influence on farmers’ decisions. At this stage the successor will most likely be much older than the definitional “young” farmer of 35 years. Consequently, this “retirement” and succession process has resulted in an ever decreasing share of young farmers.

Similar to what is occurring on a global scale, the farming population of Europe has been ageing. Almost one-third of farmers in the EU are older than 65. For every young farmer (<35 years), there are almost six farmers older than 65 years. The share of younger farmers continues to decline, only 5.6% are younger than 35. This small and declining proportion of young farmers, reflecting the general ageing of rural society, is seen as problematic especially for the future competitiveness of European agriculture.

However, the proportion of young to old farmers only provides a partial picture of their relative importance in EU agriculture. These statistics need also to be put into perspective with regard to the intergenerational process of farm succession and inheritance, increasingly viewed as crucial to the survival, continuity and future sustainability of the family farm and agricultural sector.

Should I stay or should I go? Anne Kinsella

Economist, Agricultural Economics and Farms

Surveys Department, Teagasc


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Farm HouseholdsDue to the diversity of farm households coupled with the complexity of the policy instruments involved, it is often difficult to understand the direct impact of policy incentives on farmer behavior, as well as income impacts. The actual behaviour of farmers in terms of land mobility only informs us indirectly about policy effects. Despite an array of financial enticements encouraging the process of intergenerational transfer, the older generation’s reluctance to ‘step aside’ and retire to facilitate the entry of young farmers is a globally recognised issue. Recent NUIG / Teagasc research reveals that the prospect of such a transition places significant emotional stress on older farmers, leading many to “abstain” from retirement.

Farm succession is based on many stages of a process, from forming ones’ identity in society, while allowing for the successor to climb the ‘farm-ladder’ while the farm/farmer/s themselves may undergo major changes. The farm succession process includes both the entry to, as well as the exit from agriculture so that one must look at both sides of the equation, the younger entrants and the older “exiters” when formulating any new policy measures, in taking both perspectives on board in the process. Given the desirability of understanding the behavioural aspects, including the behavioural drivers of tax incentives, research undertaken in

this arena has provided interesting insights into the functioning of the transfer process from both the entrants and exiters perspectives. In formulating policy, farmers’ perspective in the process is often ignored.

Policies and IncentivesMuch of the policies and incentives are aimed towards the younger farmers with access to land and credit often cited as the two main limiting factors for young farmers. However, so too “older” new entrants are also constrained by these factors. Despite many policy initiatives Irish agriculture continues to be characterised by a lack of land mobility. Farms are mainly owner operated, with a strong desire amongst farmers for land to remain within their family. This results in non-family permanent transfers of land comprising a relatively small proportion of the overall land market.

Within the context of institutional influences on structural change, European farmers are in a unique position. EU farmers must respond not just to the domestic policies but also to the policies implemented by EU institutions. Member states can influence policy at EU level but sometimes it may arise where farmers are forced to deal with European/domestic policies that may in fact counteract each other.

While financial incentives to stimulate the process are important, there are many more facets to the farm transfer decision-making process, which are often overlooked, or indeed neglected. Review of existing research highlights how financial incentives that encourage succession and retirement from farming have stimulated little change in the behavioural intentions and attitudes amongst elderly farmers. More wide-ranging enquiry into the ways in which the tax relief scheme would generate broader appeal, along with a series of recommendations on how this would be implemented is warranted.

At a recent international congress in Krakow, Poland, a solo performance by Lucas De Man of his work “We, Pig country” combined a direct narrative style with humour to reflect a homecoming to ones’ roots, etched with emotion and of recounting the past desires of the different siblings and extended family. The performance looked at the evolving farm situation from the collective situation rather than from the individual situation, those on and off the farm and even the impacts on the extended family. Is it the case that future research needs to focus further on this farm family extension?

Family Farm TransfersFamily farm transfers are akin to the intricacies of a web, with family ties and emotions entangled with various incentives, policies and taxes. Farmer/successor perceptions of policy, aimed at encouraging farm transfer, needs to be better understood and also, the implications policy changes may have at farm level in terms of encouraging engagement in farm succession and inheritance processes. The incorporation of practical steps and initiatives so that succession/inheritance process can be better managed may assist in overcoming the challenges and embracing the opportunities to support the future development of Irish farming.

ChallengesHowever, it must also be recognised that a huge challenge exists on the part of the retiring farmer. This is a transition that is often not properly planned for. In most jobs a retirement plan is put in place and a retirement course attended to ease the transition. But this is most often not the case for the farming community, often with an expectation that farmers don’t ever retire. The farmers’ emotional ties to the land are most often overlooked in the whole process (Conway et al). This has sometimes resulted in the formulation/implementation of policy strategies which have had little regard for elderly farmers’ needs and emotions. Loosening those ties is not easy so that policy makers need to be more conscious of the fact that it’s a bond that must be loosened, not just suddenly broken.

A well prepared and thought out succession plan is a crucial step to ease and smooth the often painful progression and to encourage and support the continuity of the family farm and of the agricultural sector.

Further reading/Information:Policy drivers of farm succession and inheritance Brian Leonarda,, Anne Kinsella,, Cathal O’Donoghue, Maura Farrell,Marie Mahon, Land Use Policy, 2016

Cease Agricultural Activity Forever? Underestimating the Importance of Symbolic Capital, Conway, S.F.., McDonagh, J, Farrell, M, Kinsella, A., Journal of Rural Studies, 2016

Uncovering obstacles: The exercise of symbolic power in the complex arena of intergenerational family farm transfer, Conway, S.F., McDonagh, J, Farrell, M, Kinsella, A., Journal of Rural Studies , 2017

Intergenerational family farm transfer, the human side, Conway, S.F.., McDonagh, J, Farrell, M, Kinsella, A., TResearch, Summer 2016

Institutional drivers of land mobility: the impact of CAP rules and tax policy on land mobility incentives in Ireland , Cathal Geoghegan, Anne Kinsella, Cathal O’Donoghue, Agricultural Finance Review, 2017

Transferring the Family Farm: The Human Element, Conway, S.F.., McDonagh, J, Farrell, M, Kinsella, A., Whitaker Institute Policy Brief Series, policy brief 11, july 2016

Uncovering obstacles to intergenerational family farm transfer, Conway, S.F.., McDonagh, J, Farrell, M, Kinsella, A., TResearch, Autumn 2017

Farm succession headaches are far from unique to Ireland, Anne Kinsella, 26 Sept 2017, Irish Independent (Farming independent)

Transferring the family farm: farmer concerns,B. Leonard, A.Kinsella, F.PhelanTresearch, Spring 2017

Farm Succession and Inheritance: Investigating Policy, B. Leonard, A.Kinsella, M. Farrell, M.McMahon, Tresearch, Autumn 2016 Young farmers in the EU – structural and economic characteristics, EU Agricultural and Farm Economics Briefs No 15 |Oct 2017

http://companynewheroes.com/project/we-pig-country-solo/ He mentioned Ireland on the list of countries which he hopes to tour shortly, so if he comes to a town near you it is a performance that comes highly recommended.


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Thomas Curran, Collaborative Farming

Specialist, Rural Economy Development Programme, Teagasc,

Moorepark.

Collaborative Farming Options can deliver sustainable options for farm businesses to improve labour availability, scale and profitabilityIntroduction: Good succession planning on Irish farms is a vital process for the on-going health of our agricultural industry. Why? Like any good hurling team, you need to introduce new players to the team on an on-going basis for continued success. The statistics from the Teagasc National Farm Survey or Census of Agriculture data are clear in terms of the age profile of Irish farmers and the presence or absence of farming successors. It is important not confuse the absence of a farming successor with no successor at all. At the recent series of Teagasc transferring the family farm clinics many farmers stated that they do not have a farming successor but they do have an inheritor to the land.

Succession is frequently viewed in relation to family farms but perhaps it is time to broaden our view of succession to farms where there is no farming successor present. Farm families also need to be conscious that they are somewhere on the succession ladder at all times during their farming career; it is a case of where they are, on that ladder. Is it the bottom rungs of the ladder with a young family who are maybe just becoming involved in routine farm tasks or are they nearing the top of the ladder where retirement or farm transfer is on the horizon? Succession is incorrectly viewed as something that happens when you reach the twilight of your farming career and is often confused with inheritance and farm

transfer. Research carried out by Dr Tomás Russell during his Teagasc Walsh Fellow study has shown us that succession starts quite early in life and begins with learning to do routine tasks on a farm. In other words, long before, a child chooses their career path in farming or outside farming; they are or have been on the succession ladder. So we must ask the question in relation to those who do not choose farming as a career. Why is it or what experience has influenced that decision? Farmers on the early part of the succession ladder must be conscious of their portrayal of farming as an occupation when their children are young. Is it safe, rewarding, profitable with a good work life balance or is it drudgery for little reward. Ask

yourself the question, how do I portray farming as an occupation and career to my family? Will my portrayal influence whether I have a farming successor or not in the future?

Collaborative farming business structures provide sustainable options to all farmers. That is: to those who amalgamate their businesses into one operation; to those who have no farming successor to form a business structure with a young person looking to begin their farming career or a structure to formally involve a farming successor in the farm business. They also provide business structures for non-farming inheritors to engage formally with active farmers.

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The key challenge for any farmer considering a collaborative arrangement is to develop and nurture a strong working relationship with the other people in the agreement. This is the single most important factor in the success of any arrangement. It involves a change of mind-set on the part of the farmer to think in terms of us/we rather than I/me. The relationship must be built on strong core values such as trust, respect, understanding, and above all excellent communication.

Farm Partnerships:Within Family: In a family situation, a registered farm partnership is a central step as part of a succession plan. It is an ideal structure to formally involve the next generation in the farm business and in doing so facilitate the gradual transfer of responsibility and decision making on the farm. The focus moves from farm transfer to farm operation as a team. This is important, as in most cases parents are not immediately in a position to transfer the farm to a son or daughter that has returned home to begin their farming career. Firstly, the young person is relatively inexperienced and there are genuine reasons usually linked to concerns about the implications for family income; security for the parents and other family members that still have to be provided for. These concerns can be alleviated by forming a registered partnership between the parents and the son or daughter as an interim step before considering full transfer of the farm. There are financial advantages to forming a registered partnership for both the parents and the son or daughter through taxation and the CAP schemes.

Succession farm partnerships are a new structure beginning in 2017, where an annual income tax credit of €5,000 is available for up to 5 years. To avail of this credit the partnership must complete the Teagasc My Farm My Plan business plan and complete a separate legally binding succession agreement in which it is agreed to transfer at least 80% of the farm assets within 3-10 years.

Between Families: A partnership with other farmer(s) offers a superior work-life balance when compared to operating alone because there is more labour available. In some situations, it can alleviate the need to rely on hired in labour. While the farm will be still busy, the fact that there is at least two labour units available to carry out the work on the farm on a daily basis is what provides

this superior work life balance. A partnership can and must provide to the opportunity for increased scale and efficiency as the farm must sustain two family incomes. The real reward for a good work structure is the ability to have a good lifestyle with adequate time for family and other personal interests. It can provide scale in a sustainable way as the additional labour is built in as part of the partnership.

Working in partnership means there is often a better and broader range of knowledge and skills available to the partnership business. This facilitates better and more informed decision making on a wide range of subject areas. Discussions among partners mean that business decisions are teased out further and explored in greater depth.

Having completed the required formal agricultural education and spending a period of time gaining valuable on-farm experience, a registered farm partnership with an existing dairy farmer is a business model that can facilitate the entry of young trained farmers to begin their farming careers.

Contract RearingContract rearing is a business arrangement where a farmer enters into a contract and gets paid to rear breeding heifers for a dairy farmer. In setting up the agreement, it is vital to discuss and agree all the practical issues around the management of the heifers during the arrangement. These include: a start and end date; the number of animals to be reared; a schedule of weighing; veterinary inputs and breeding management amongst others. The enterprise can be carried out in tandem to the existing beef enterprise on the farm. Perhaps an out farm or specific area of the farm could be devoted to contract heifer rearing. The advantages to the rearer are that cash flow is more favourable as payment is generally paid by monthly direct debit. Another advantage to the rearer is that there is no money tied up in stock, as the stock are not purchased. It is critical that the price is set at a level that delivers a good financial return to the farmer rearing the heifers. Otherwise the arrangement will not be sustainable. Essentially the rearing period can be broken down into five stages: calf rearing; first grazing season; first winter; second grazing season and second winter. The rearing periods need to be borne in mind when planning a rate of payment. Provided that grassland management is good, the grazing

Retiring FarmersActive

Farming Population

New Entrants/Successors


seasons are the least expensive rearing periods. Each party should draw up a budget to plan and monitor their own finances. Agreement must be reached at the start on which costs are to be incurred by each party. This will determine the rate of payment per head per day.

The advantages for the dairy farmer include: Less groups of stock to manage, potential to expand, ability to concentrate on the dairy herd at critical times of the year (e.g. breeding), an option where housing is limited and an alternative to land leasing. Share farmingThe key feature distinguishing share farming from a partnership is that two completely separate farming businesses operate on one farm. Firstly: the business of the landowner, and secondly, the business of the share farmer. All receipts and payments are split between both people as set out in their written agreement. They both calculate their own separate profits from the arrangement. The concept remains the same across all enterprises including dairy farming.

Each party must complete a financial budget and cash flow plan for their own respective businesses to make sure the venture makes financial sense for them in their own right. Share farming as a structure could suit a situation where the landowner no longer wants to be involved in the day to day running of the farm but will retain an interest in the financial performance of the farm. The share farmer generally provides all of the labour and in some cases, the livestock and/or machinery. The landowner provides the land and the facilities required for the dairy enterprise to be successful. Along with the partnership model, share farming provides an opportunity for young farmers to begin their career in farming by collaborating with existing farmers.

Long-term land leasingLong-term leasing is a growing feature of Irish farming due mainly to the income tax incentives available to the owner of the land. The number of leases has doubled to 6,380 in 2015. Leasing is an attractive option to established farmers as they can justify investment in the land in order to get a financial return.

Benefits to Lessor: The key benefit to the lessor is that the income received from a long-term land lease and the value of any Basic Payment Entitlements is tax free income subject to the limits set out in Table 1. By entering into a long-term land leasing arrangement with the lessee, the landowners are providing a better incentive to the lessee to make investments in the land such as reseeding, fencing, and possibly infrastructure.

Benefits to Lessee: The key benefit to the lessee is that the long-term lease provides security of tenure. This allows the lessee to plan the farm business with more certainty. The extended term of lease allowable under the new provisions means that the lessee can look at investment in the land in a new light.

Table 1: Tax Incentives for Long-term Land Leasing

Term of Lease (years)

Max Tax free Income/year

5-7 years €18,000

7-10years €22,500

10-15 years €30,000

>15 years €40,000

Cow LeasingCow leasing is a collaborative arrangement where a dairy farmer leases out surplus cows to another dairy farmer. Increasing cow numbers ties up significant capital in replacements combined with the costs associated with rearing the extra stock. Leasing out cows is an opportunity for the dairy farmer to earn a financial return on these animals until such time as an opportunity comes up to bring them into production. Where capital is limiting, the option of leasing in cows allows the lessee to increase numbers at a lower cost than buying cows outright. The lease can be short-term for 1-2 years or for a longer term arrangement of 4 to 5 years. In general cows on a short-term arrangement will return to the owner whereas those on a long-term lease generally do not return. Teagasc developed a template agreement for long-term cow leasing some time ago but were awaiting the revenue clarification on the treatment of leasing income for income tax and VAT.

36 37

Oliver HolohanMillard & Company

Solicitors

Implications of budgetary taxation changesBudgetary taxation changes. There was widespread confusion and considerable disquiet over certain taxation measures proposed in the recent Budget in relation to Stamp Duty. In this feature Oliver Holohan, solicitor, Millard & Co. Carlow, examines the changes and how they affect the reliefs that have been available to encourage intergenerational land transfer.

Extending tax relief. In the recent Budget there were some welcome extensions to tax relief for transfers of family farms to family members. The young trained farmer stamp duty extension was extended beyond 31st December 2018. To avail of this stamp duty relief, a young trained farmer under 35 must have bought or received land as a gift/inheritance at the date of transfer.

In addition, consanguinity relief has been extended for a further three years up to 31st December 2020. In this instance a special 1% stamp duty rate for intra family transfer of farms remains in place and the requirement of a maximum 67 years of age limit under which a farmer can transfer to a family member has been abolished.

There has also been some positive moves with regard to Capital Gains Tax relief. Traditionally CGT relief which applied to residential or commercial property applied for a property which was held for seven years. However this was varied in Budget 2018 and a capital CGT relief can now qualify for property which was acquired between 7th December 2011 – 31st December 2014. This relief will be of particular

interest to landowners who are selling to a non family member such as a third party individual or company. The advantage of such CGT relief allows the seller of land to plan accordingly for CGT relief for lands that were initially acquired between the above dates. This CGT relief allows property to go to the market a full three years earlier than the traditional seven year CGT relief.

Qualifying for agricultural relief. Agricultural relief is a Tax relief available for the transfer of farming assets to an active farmer. Here the reduction in the market value of the property is allowed up to 90% and taxation is considered on the remaining 10% only. Should a prospective farmer not qualify for agricultural relief on a Transfer/Inheritance of land on such qualifying criteria such as the Farmer test and/or suitably qualified trained farmer, then a similar business relief of 90% reduction can be availed of. Both Agricultural and Business reliefs are also subject to clawback by Revenue should land be subsequently sold on within six years of claiming the relief.

Planning ahead to minimise tax. For anyone considering the transfer or the sale of property, there are attractive reliefs available but proper planning for such transfers or sales is essential. It is a multi-faceted exercise and therefore requires the judicious use of professional advice including accounting and legal advice. All of the relevant factors must be planned for, including family dynamics, taxation matters and, quite often, the long term economic and personal welfare of the individual transferring the property.


38

Peter YoungIrish Farmers Journal

Farming Companies - The Benefits & PitfallsHigh tax bills this year has increased the interest amongst farmers in moving to a limited company. It is easy to just look at the 12.5% tax rate but limited companies are certainly not for everyone. You should start by trying to find reasons not to go in. The decision needs careful consideration and need a lot of planning to get it right. But if it does suit your situation they can really help to develop your business and give more control over any potential tax bill. There is a lot of interest from farmers looking at the option, but each has to look carefully at their own situation both now and in the future and get good advice. It can be done quickly but I would argue that it takes up to two years of planning to really get the transition right.

Is it for me?To really make the decision a five year plan for the business needs to be drawn up. It will answer key questions like:

■ What is the tax position over the five years?■ Is there expansion on the cards that involves

capital expenditure?■ What is my capital loan repayment profile?■ Have you drawn TAMS 2 and have further to

draw down?■ What are your living expenses requirements? ■ What are your current liabilities and-what

would your director’s loan stand at?

• Do you need to transfer in assets other than stock and machinery to boost the balance sheet?

■ Have you thought about succession and could you bring the successor in as part of the planned move?

Advantages The biggest advantage is the 12.5% corporation tax on trading profits compared with a marginal rate of up to 52% for the individual farmer earning over €32,800. So for every €1,000 profit in the company €395 (€1,000*(52%-12.5%) is sheltered from tax. This is the difference between paying the 12.5% corporate tax and the 52% high rate when all levies such as USC and PRSI are included.

This comes into its own when farmers are expanding and have loans inside the company. If you will require bank borrowings to fund future farm development/expansion, land purchase etc, any such borrowings are paid back to the bank from after tax income. Don’t get confused with interest payments, which are tax deductible. Capital repayments are not tax deductable. Therefore, if Fred is to repay the €250,000 loan and assuming they may be paying income tax rates up to 52%, he would need to earn €520,833 before tax, to repay these borrowings.

However, if trading as a company, the company would only need to earn €285,714 before tax, to

39

repay these borrowings. That’s a difference of €235,118. It’s no wonder that some banks are now encouraging farmers to incorporate particularly with land purchase and large borrowings.

Limited companies also restrict the exposure to the company directors to the amount of money inside the company. However banks are now seeking personal guarantee for loans or money that the companies owes.

You can have more flexibility on pension contributions within a limited company. The company receives a full tax deduction for the payment to the director pension fund. Pension planning is by far the most common way to remove excess funds from a company.

Disadvantages It is not all positive. Running a limited company presents another layer of paperwork for farmers. A limited company must file annual accounts with the companies’ registration office, which is normally more costly and time consuming than that of a sole trader. In most cases accountancy fees will be double what they currently are. Setting up the company can cost from €4,000 to €8,000 depending on the situation.

Income averaging is not an option for a limited

company. The impact of income averaging moving to five year in 2015 should be carefully looked at first. This is an important tool for minimising tax on many farms especially when profits are rising. A tax bill can also be triggered when a farmer goes from income averaging into a company. Careful tax planning can avoid this.

There are many rules and regulations and we are moving into an era where they are going to be carefully enforced. For example loans of up to 10% of the assets can be made to directors but create a benefit in kind for the director who is liable to income tax at his marginal rate each year until the loan is repaid. If the loan is written off, it is treated as personal income and could be liable to taxes at 52pc.

When there are outstanding loans outside the company the income is now inside the company. The money you take out to repay capital will attract income tax at marginal rate. Again planning is vital to avoid this.

A company creates a complication for succession planning. In general the tax rules applying are slightly more restrictive, complex and less generous for the company structure than individual farmers. Again this has to be carefully planned.

In Summary

Farmers that should consider setting up a company are those that;

• donot/willnotneedasignificantportionoftheirfarmprofitsforlivingexpense/drawings each year, most common where there is off farm income;

• arealreadypayingsignificantincometax;

• havemorethan10yearsleftbeforetheyretire;

• planonexpandingtheirbusinessoverthenext10yearsandwillrequireborrowings to fund expansion;

• havealreadyexhaustedallothertaxreductionoptions,e.g.familywages,spouses credits etc.

In brief, there is more to making this decision than the tax rate. You should look at the overall impact that such a set up will have on your business and remember that each situation is different. Go get good advice but don’t pay too much!


40

Aisling Meehan, Aisling Meehan

Agricultural Solicitors

Hiring Staff – what do I need to know?

Aisling Meehan Agricultural Solicitors gives advice on Employer Employee Relationships as it affects farmers. Aisling advises farmers across the country on legal and tax issues affecting family farms with offices located on the family farm. She writes a column with the Irish Farmers Journal. As well as running her own farm, she helps out with the family farm with her father and two brothers who are currently farming 750 acres and milking 350 cows.

Practical Advice For those farmers that have an existing employee but do not have a written employment contract, it is important to put one in place straight away. The consequences of not having a written employment contract in place can be disastrous should the employee threaten to bring a claim against a farmer or if the employee is involved in a workplace accident or the WRC carries out an inspection. The farmer as employer should get the employee to sign the written contract of employment confirming the terms of employment. The farmer should also give the employee an opportunity to get independent legal advice before signing the contract to ensure the contract is binding and enforceable.

Checking References and Probationary PeriodIf a farmer is looking at taking on a worker, the first thing the farmer should do is ask for at least two references ideally from previous farmer employers. It is important to phone the referees to verify the qualifications and experience of the

prospective employee. Once the farmer is satisfied that the prospective employee has a reasonable track record, the farmer should look at including a probationary period in the contract of employment. The benefit of this is that the Unfair Dismissals Acts will not apply (except in specific limited circumstances) provided that: • the contract of employment is in writing • the duration of probation or training is one year

or less and is specified in the contract. This highlights further the importance of having a written contract.

Insurance for EmployeesIt is essential for farmers to have employer’s liability insurance to provide protection for injury or disease caused to employees in the course of their duties. Commercial Vehicle Insurance covers employees who are not only passengers but also named drivers in cases where an accident has occurred. For an employee to become a named driver on your policy or to drive any of the vehicles on the farm without being accompanied by a licensed adult or to carry passengers in a work situation they must be over the required age and have a full drivers license.

Employment ContractYou must give your employee certain terms and conditions of employment in writing within 2 months of starting employment. It should include details such as the date of commencement of employment, job title or nature of work, whether

there is a probationary period and for how long, terms and conditions relating to hours of work, pay, notice periods etc. While I would advise farmers to get a solicitor to draft a contract of employment as the risk of getting the law wrong could cost you much more in the long run, a sample written statement of terms of employment is available for free at the following link https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Publications_Forms/Sample_Terms_of_Employment.pdf

Obligation to Register for Tax for New EmployeesIf someone is classed as an employee, an employer is obliged to give Revenue notice of their employment within 9 days of it commencing. After registering an employee, Revenue will issue a certificate of tax credits setting out the exact amount of tax deductions to be made. For the purposes of the PAYE system an employer has a statutory obligation to keep and maintain a register of employees which includes details of all employees including the name, address and PPSN of each employee, the date of commencement/cessation of employment. All payments to the employee must be made after deduction of the appropriate amount of PAYE, PRSI and USC.

PayslipAs an employer you are legally obliged to provide a payslip which should include a breakdown of gross pay, hours worked, hourly rate of pay, holiday pay, sick pay etc. In addition, it should include deductions from gross salary such as tax, PRSI, USC, board and lodgings etc. There are numerous payroll software packages available for as little as €150 per year which automatically generates a payslip at the end of each week.

Disciplinary Procedures and DismissalAn employee who has been employed for a year or more may claim unfair dismissal or constructive

dismissal. Dismissal of an employee is regarded as unfair dismissal unless there are substantial grounds justifying the dismissal such as capability, competence or qualifications of the employee, conduct, redundancy and other substantial reasons. Under the Unfair Dismissals Act you are required to give employees written notice of the procedures to be followed before dismissal. This must be done within 28 days of entering the contract of employment. If you do dismiss an employee, you must be able to show that there were fair grounds for dismissal and that fair procedures were followed.

Health and SafetyThe Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005, place a legal duty on employers to prepare and work to a safety statement. However, farmers with 3 or less employees will be able to fulfil their statutory duty by completing a Risk Assessment Document. It is recommended to get employees to sign the document as soon as they begin work confirming that they have been made aware of the safety statement or risk assessment document. A copy of the HSA Agriculture Code of Practice incorporating the Risk Assessment Document is available on the Department of Agriculture or HSA website.

Teagasc Manual on Farm Labour Teagasc published a manual on Farm Labour earlier this year which aims to assist farmers who are currently employing, or thinking about employing, a labour unit for the first time. It brings together the expertise of Teagasc advisors, educators, human resources personnel. There are also contributions from commercial dairy farmers and the WRC which make it a highly practical publication. It can be accessed at the following link https://www.teagasc.ie/publications/2017/teagasc-farm-labour-manual.php.

41IrIsh Grassland assoCIatIon - newsletter wInter 2017 IrIsh Grassland assoCIatIon - newsletter wInter 2017

42

Finola Colgan, Area Development Officer,

Mental Health Ireland & Barry Caslin, Energy & Rural

Development Specialist, Teagasc

Coping with the Pressures of Farming

43

“Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful, and most noble employment of man” so stated George Washington. While those of us involved in agriculture and farming subscribe to that belief we also have to recognise that from time to time it can be a stressful occupation.

Staying well mentally is just as important as staying well physically. Dealing with stress, the difficulties of life are part of daily living and in farming that can be exacerbated through the many demands of managing a successful farming enterprise let it be grassland, dairying, forestry, equine and so on. It can lead to a greater build-up of demands creating stress and pressure resulting in feelings of being unable to cope. On such occasions being able to reach out to someone to talk to and get advice from, can make all the difference to sorting out the troubled situation or problem. This backdrop was the stimulus to produce ‘Coping with the Pressures of Farming’, a joint publication by Teagasc and Mental Health Ireland. The objectives of this publication include amongst others to promote positive mental health among isolated people living in rural areas including farmers and farm families and to encourage help seeking behaviours in terms of emotional well-being among isolated rural dwellers by increasing awareness of rural support services. Another important objective was to improve community understanding of what mental health truly is and challenge the fears and stigma

often associated with mental illness which can be barriers to seeking necessary professional help.

Health and Mental HealthThere are many different definitions of health and wellbeing, i.e. they all tend to reflect the same core message. As defined by the World Health Organisation 1947 “Health is a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. The message being conveyed within this definition is that our health is on a continuum and that it is not always possible to have a perfect health balance. More often than not our lives are like the currents of the sea ebbing or flowing. How often have you heard the expression just when you are appearing to be going well, you have been mowed to the ground like grass? It rejuvenates and grows again with care and attention. So too for the human body and mind, it can recover from setbacks and disappointments. Life throws up some unforgiving challenges and it can take resilience and resolve to overcome them. Resilience was very much to the fore for the farming community during the impact of storm Ophelia. Many immediate preventive actions were taken to secure sheds, bring animals to safety and so on. Similarly, in life we need to learn to be resilient and to protect ourselves from negative influence and events.

A starting point can be to understand our mental health similarly as we understand our physical health and both can change throughout our lives. Our mind, like our body, from time to time can become unwell. Mental health has to do with different aspects of our lives and it is essential that we all look after ourselves both physically and mentally.

3. Take notice Reminding yourself to ‘take notice’ can

strengthen and broaden awareness. Studies have shown that being aware of what is taking place in the present, directly enhances your well-being and savouring ‘the moment’ can help to reaffirm your life priorities. This is about taking moments out from time to time during the day and being mindful about the present.

4. Learn Continued learning through life enhances

self-esteem and encourages social interaction and a more active life. The winter evenings can be a great opportunity for personal self-development. There is evidence that suggests that the opportunity to engage in work or educational activities particularly beneficial. Consideration could be given to attend your local Community College or Institute of Technology and take up an evening course. Such places have courses on offer from baking to business management.

5. Give Participation in social and community life

has attracted a lot of attention in the field of wellbeing research. Individuals who report a greater interest in helping others are more likely to rate themselves as happy. Check out local voluntary groups in your local area and support their initiatives. Aside from giving, it is an opportunity to socialise and have others benefit from your experiences and energy.

Finally, There is an Indian proverb that says “that everyone is a house with four rooms, a physical, a mental, an emotional and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time but, unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person.”

Coping with the Pressures of Farming is freely available to download atwww.mentalhealthireland.ie or www.teagasc.ie

StressThere are noted risk factors both physical and mental associated with farming. University of Limerick (UL) indicates that on-going mental distress leads to anxiety and depression. Mental distress also leads to increased expectation of accidental injury. The study also indicates that mental distress from farming can arise from on-going work including time pressure, bureaucracy, financial pressure, work unpredictability and the presence of farm hazards. The juggling of such competing demands can accumulate to the point that it can lead to stress and poor mental health.

One of the more general definitions of stress as highlighted by the author in the Irish Farming Independent on the topic of Stress and Farming is “physical, mental or emotional strain or tension”. While research has shown that some stress can be positive, making us more alert and perform better in certain situations, such stress is only healthy if it is short-lived. Unfortunately, debilitating illnesses such as heart disease and mental health problems can manifest under long term stress situations.

Five Ways to WellbeingThere are a number of practical steps that can be taken to minimise the impact of stress and improve our general mental health and wellbeing. The following steps have been researched and developed by the New Economics Foundation and are universally promoted as good practice.

1. Connect There is strong evidence that indicates that

feeling close to, and valued by, other people is a fundamental human need and one that contributes to functioning well in life. Social relationships are critical for promoting wellbeing and for acting as a safeguard against mental ill health. While bearing this in mind, try to do something different today and make a connection. This can be challenging given the nature of a farmers daily routine with significant reduced opportunity to meet with anyone during the day. However an extra special effort can be made to go out in the evening time and over the week end.

2. Exercise Regular physical activity is associated with lower

rates of depression and anxiety across all age groups. It is beneficial for slowing age-related cognitive decline and for promoting well-being. By its nature, farming is very exercise orientated and has its own natural benefits.


44

Ciaran Roche, FBD Risk Manager

and Vice Chair of the Farm Safety Partnership

Farm Safety - A Time for Action

A week does not pass by without a news bulletin featuring correspondence on the latest farm fatality or serious farm accident. The rest of the world moves on very quickly but for the individuals and families involved there is no moving on, there is only coming to terms with the consequences as much as is possible.

197 people have been killed in farming related accidents between 2007 and 2016 with 21 fatalities having already taken place in 2017. On behalf of everyone at FBD, I would like to express our deepest sympathies to all of the families affected. Words cannot describe the devastation left behind after these tragedies. Farming is currently the most dangerous occupation in Ireland, with farmers facing odd’s of 1 in 86 chance of being involved in a fatal farm accident over their lifetime.

These stark numbers are the reality of farming in Ireland today and everyone is in agreement that this situation is wholly unacceptable. Apart from the farm fatalities and therefore coming somewhat under the radar are the more than 2,500 people inflicted with life changing disabilities and injuries from farm related accidents annually. What is not included in any of these figures is the near misses of which far too many farmers can recount.

Elderly farmers - Take care• Over 50% of fatal accidents this year involved

farmers over the age of 65. This demographic is an especially vulnerable group whose safety requires our urgent attention.

• Accidents to this age profile have mostly been involved with farm vehicles (tractors & quads) and attacks from livestock. This suggests that a lack of mobility and low awareness of dangers plays a central role in the risks posed to elderly farmers.

• There is a responsibility on all tractor operators to be especially aware of elderly farmers who are standing in the vicinity of operations. Extra precautions must also be taken to ensure the safety of elderly farmers when handling cattle.

• The age and health related risk factors of elderly farmers must be recognised and expectations, working procedures and physical activities should be modified accordingly.

Challenge yourself, change our culture• Education, training, technology, engineering

and innovation all play a pivotal part in safety on the farm, but changing unsafe cultures and behaviours is the key to a sustained reduction in the number of serious and fatal accidents.

• Now is the time to challenge ourselves to work safer and to stop taking risks. We need to work together as a farming community to break the cycle of risk-taking behaviour.

• Remember that peer-to-peer is often the most effective way to initiate change. Taking a moment to communicate any hazard you may observe on a neighbour’s farm, a farm walk or a discussion group meeting might just save a life. As a community we have to be open to challenge and

45

Don’t leave safety to chance.

Alwaysthink safety

first.

not take safety advice defensively. Irish farming is incredible at embracing change in so many areas but it must begin to embrace change with farm safety.

Remember the consequences• Most farmers understand the hazards on their

farms and the associated risks, but they can be tempted to take chances when in a hurry, stressed, fatigued, under significant work pressure, or when there is an associated financial cost.

• Farmers are more likely to take chances if it’s perceived as the norm. For example some farmers may operate a tractor with brakes in poor condition as long as it isn’t used on a public road. Many will allow children under the age of 14 to operate tractors and other hazardous machinery. The acceptability of these unsafe behaviours is something that must change.

• Farmers often take chances they would not allow others to take, such as handling livestock without using appropriate handling facilities, or accessing areas at height in an unsafe manner. Farmers should always remember that your safety is paramount to your loved ones. This has been the central message coming from the “What’s Left Behind” campaign from Embrace. Families who have lost loved ones have shown us the grave consequences in the aftermath of these events.

Lead the next generation by example“Unsafe working practices are never acceptable”.• If we can create and foster a positive safety

culture on our farms, behavioural change and safer farming practices will follow. Anyone who has ever made and broken a New Year Resolution can appreciate the difficulty of behavioural change; it is much easier to talk about than put into action. Making a lasting change is rarely a simple process, and usually involves a significant commitment of time and effort.

• Many unsafe practices on Irish farms are learned behaviours passed down through generations, but we need to ask ourselves, is it fair to pass these on to the next generation? We need to teach and show our children how to farm safely.

A time for action• Safety must not be left to the random chance

of being on the right side of the 1 in 86 odds, Farmers need to manage health and safety on their farm and effectively plan work activities. This planning must include planned safety maintenance on farm machinery, equipment, facilities and time management. Not only are well managed farmers safer but they are also more efficient.

• Managing safety correctly is sometimes difficult to measure as we cannot see the accidents that our action have prevented. However, by not managing safety on your farm it may lead to a lifetime of “if only”.

If only I had fixed the brakes on the tractor… If only I had covered the PTO… If only I had covered the slurry tank…


Always use a safely designed calving gate when calving cows

Always use safe livestock handling facilities

Carry out a risk assessment and implement the safety controls

Children over 7 years of age can only be carried in a tractor fitted with a passenger seat and with a seatbelt

Install safe slurry access pointsMaintaining the tractor and it brakes is essential

Farm Safety - A Time for Action

46

Legal Obligations of the Landowner

Laws on shrubs, trees, hedges and drainage on public roads. Farmers are often less than fully aware of their responsibilities in terms of public liability. Questions often arise, for instance, as to whether the landowner is legally responsible for falling trees from their farms causing damage to people or property. This issue has come very much to the fore in the wake of recent storm damage. It is worth noting that the majority of road accidents and mortalities during storms are caused by falling trees or debris from roadside hedges. In this article Oliver Holohan, solicitor with Millard & Co. Carlow, looks at the legal implications for landowners.

Roadside maintenance. In a farming environment, shrubs and trees can sometimes intrude out onto public roads and therefore regular maintenance is advised in order to ensure that road safety is unaffected. Duties of landowners and occupiers are provided in Section 70 of the Roads Act, 1993 and this Act provides that a landowner or occupier must take all reasonable steps to ensure that any structure on land is not a hazard, or a potential hazard to anyone using a public road. Hence maintenance of hedge growth along a public road is the responsibility of the landowner or the occupier. A felling licence is required to uproot any tree over ten years old, or cut down any tree of any age including a tree which forms part of a hedge grow without a licence as per Section 17 of the Forestry Act, 2014. A licence can be obtained from the Forestry Section of the Department.

Seasonal restrictions. In addition, the Land Conveyance and Law Reform Act, 2009 provides that landowners and/or occupiers have a right to carry out works on a boundary between two neighbouring properties, such as clearing, filling in, cutting or replacing hedges.

Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 2000, however, forbids cutting or removal of hedge grows or other vegetation during the nesting season from 1st March – 31st August annually.

Forcible maintenance. There are also provisions in the 1993 Road Act relating to the rights and responsibilities of landowners in relation to drainage systems that may be adjacent to public roads. The same Act can be invoked by local authorities in cases where hedges present a hazard to persons using the public road. In these instances, the Road Authority may serve a notice on the landowner or occupier requiring the felling, cutting or trimming of a hedge within a period stated in the notice.

Landowners and/or occupiers must take all reasonable steps to ensure that any shrubs or trees on their land do not interfere adversely with public road users and must ensure that a potential hazard does not become a hazard. Regular inspection of lands is strongly advised to ensure that shrubs, trees and hedges along with drainage does not pose a hazard to road safety.

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Oliver HolohanMillard & Company

Solicitors

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