Irish Independent - Farming - 2020-06-16

• Government deal gets a cautious welcome from farm sector
• ICMSA urges retention of ‘vital’ farm tax reliefs
• No farmer can get a free pass while others carry environmen­tal can for everyone
• EU biodiversi­ty plan would see 10pc of Irish land ‘rewilded’, claim hill farmers
• €50m beef package may be extended to all finished cattle sold in the last year
• New scheme launched to revive plantation­s devastated by Ash dieback
• The big farming questions that remain unanswered
• Programme high on aspiration across all farm sectors
• EU push for organic transition is a ready-made solution for our farming emissions dilemma
• ‘Farm to Fork’ is pie in the sky unless processors and retailers are reined in
• ‘Gone for now is the familiar buzz and camaraderi­e of the marts’
• Marts reopen but where are the supports to keep them operating?
• ‘We can’t keep pumping the ground full of chemicals’
• ‘There was a niche in the market for a new range of farm work-wear’
• ‘I needed money for cash-flow mainly, so the bank suggested an overdraft of €15,000’
• State Aid rules can limit valuable tax reliefs
• We are doing rain dances at this stage as grass really begins to tighten up
• A clear month between calving and breeding delivers big benefits for both man and beast
• Measuring will improve your flock
• It’s a matter of record
• Farmers should embrace Farm to Fork it can spark a shift towards more local supply chains
• Drought continuing to bite in the south and east
• Return of live rings drives surge in price of heavy cattle
• Quotes remain static at around €3.55-€3.60/kg as demand starts to creep back up
• Factories slash lamb prices by up to 30c/kg
• Stone mad: why drought causes strange behaviour in livestock
• How the plants farmers view as ‘weeds’ can actually boost grass yields
• UCD trials indicate increased ewe milk production and lamb weight gain in flocks grazing multi-species swards
• Health-conscious consumers prefer ‘Blondes’
• ‘Heavy culling is essential to maintain herd quality’ says top Blues breeder
• Cutting out the middleman
• ‘Honestly, I don’t know why it took me so long to convert’
• Model dairy farm in the Kingdom is ready to go for a new owner
• Residentia­l farm in ‘Reagan country’ guided at €650,000
• Farmland auctions on the double in Kildare
• ‘Contract rearing has allowed us to maximise our production per cow and per hectare’
• So what’s it to be – business as usual or a step towards that elusive brave new world?

Irish Independent - Farming - 2020-06-09

Irish Independent - Farming - 2020-06-23