‘A lot more has to be done on farm safety’

MY WEEK

ELIZABETH ORMISTON is a suckler farmer from Mullagh in Co Cavan and the first IFA female county committee chairperson in the country.

The 57-year-old runs a herd of dry stock and Simmentals on her 70-acre farm, and sells them mainly through the marts: “I am not a fan of the factories. I prefer the marts,” is her golden selling rule, and it has worked out well for her.

“I sold 12 heifers at Carnaross before Christmas and got exceptional prices — €1,510 for a 650kg heifer and similar prices for the others,” she says happily.

Elizabeth was guided on all matters farming by her late father Peter who emigrated to the United States for eight years in the 1960s.

“When he would return home for his holidays, he always used to quote President Kennedy’s views on farm economics. He would always ask if the farmers of Cavan were still buying their inputs and animals at retail prices and selling the end product at wholesale prices, and still wondering how to make up the difference,” Elizabeth recalls.