‘The UK will always want food and we have always delivered’

BETTER use of land would allow the agri sector to achieve beef, dairy, afforestation and carbon targets, Minister Andrew Doyle has claimed.

The Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture contends that dry stock farmers in particular are failing to fully utilise and optimise their holdings.

“There is so much waste — part of it is in land management, part of it is in livestock management and part of it is business management.

“Unless we develop a model that says we can produce food, increase production and aim towards carbon neutrality over time, our land will never reach its full potential.”

He stresses that if farmers maximise the efficiency of land use, they will be able to use less land to produce every bit as much, and more.

“We can use the marginal land to produce other crops, be it energy crops, be it trees, and then you can get credits from that. I firmly believe that we’re going to move that way,” he says.

The Junior Minister for Agriculture says he is speaking from experience. He first planted his own land in 1992, then planted for a second time last year.

“The land that was planted during the first plantation was the most marginal; in the middle of it there is a commonage and bog holes where we essentially used to lose animals.

“It was just land that wasn’t really being utilised and this is me using it to its better potential,” says the Wicklow farmer.

“The trees have done really well in it so it was definitely the right decision. We have a mixed species of Douglas fir, Scots pine, Spruce and Alder.”

At the time, the father of four, who regularly mountain bikes through the evergreen forests of the Garden County, didn’t qualify for premium payments.

“We could do it with the establishment grant and it just seemed to make sense in terms of the overall farm enterprise.

“It’s a huge addition, even if you’re just looking at balance sheets — it doubles the value of the land and it brings in a tax-free premium for 15 years, and it will be there for somebody and that’s what I’ve always been advocating.”

He encourages all farmers to consider forestry as a way of improving farm incomes.

“Farmers should use the opportunity with the forestry programme, and the money can be used either then to supplement income or invest in other areas of the farm,” he says.

When asked what changes will come to agriculture in the years ahead, Minister Doyle — who confirmed his intentions to run in the election — says all farms will have to be managed like a business, especially with the threat of Brexit on the horizon.

“There are various different incentives and taxations that can help manage the business, and then farmers will have to look closely at the markets. The UK are still going to want to import; they will still be hugely important but we still must be prepared to look outside that.

“Where we need to land on Brexit is with as close a deal as the arrangement we currently have with the UK and Europe.

“Uncertainty is the biggest concern I have but, at the same time, the UK will always want food and we’ve always satisfied the market. We’ve weaned our way away from total dependency on them, but it’s still our biggest market for agri food, at 43pc.”