Grassroots Magazine June 2013

FARM Forestry

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51

Dairy Expansion

D.Marshall Models

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56

Loughmore

Gardeners Year

June 2013

• By-Gone

Days

er

st • Dairyma

risis

C • Fodder

• Dairymaster Also inside: Machinery / Motoring / Property / Farmers Markets

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FARM Forestry

2

FARM Forestry

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Farm

Fertility Management

INSIDE

Fodder Crisis

News

Dairy

Dairy Expansion

Sheep

Beef

Pedigree

Tillage

Machinery

Forestry

Crisis Update Crisis News

Farm News

Taking The Sting Innovation Awards Breeding

Padraig French Dr. Edmond Harty Athenry Open Day Fertility Management Emerald Expo Crimping Option News & Krone Mower Forestry In Stradbally

06 08 12 16 18 20 22 24 27 28 30 34 36 38

Summer Highlights

Show Calendar

Cork Summer Show

Charleville Summer Show Laughing Stock

Tractorworld

D.Marshall Conversions

41 45 46 47 49 50 51

Marketplace

Caroline Burgess Gardeners Year On the pigs back

52 54 56 58

Martin Recalls Farm Sales

Presidents Call Potential to Learn Dairymaster

Mitsubishi ASX Loughmore

Summertime Madness

60 64 66 67 68 70 72 74

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Summer Shows

Hobbies Show Feature

Humour Vintage Model Farm

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Marketplace

Food Farmers Market Home Cooking Grow Your Own Smallholdings

Rural Interest

By Gone Days Property Youth/Macra

Business Motoring Community Travel

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72

Loughmore

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FARM Forestry ots Magazine.

2013 edition of Grassro Welcome to the June farm, issue on everything ether another great The team have put tog st. food and rural intere ged its face after a prolon summer shyly shows pefully) (ho is cris As the eagerly awaited der fod the ks at the final days of anspring, this issue loo pefully) that graces the h tepid sunshine (ho Iris s iou ster my the and son. nual summer show sea w or around a summer sho t staycation, maybe sum the out ck It is time to plan tha Che track. national well beaten l out a map and finding the jewel off the pul or trip any ng before planni real mer show calendar did and we found a county Tipperary, we locate Loughmore in community jewel. great ther Irish jewel. It is ted Dairymaster, ano Irish commual This month we also visi rur its to e tru g cess story stayin rty to see a worldwide suc to wish Dr Edmond Ha r on year. I would like the of eur ren rep nity as it expands yea Ent World as he competes for the the very best of luck this month. lo Car te Mon in rd Year Awa t quoissue as we look to pos ry expansion in this ustry ind the in s We start a series on dai der The lea Harvest 2020 targets. ta 2015 and the Food es. r the seri m inwill give their views ove ication from the tea the hard work and ded team the nk tha I must acknowledge to t wan I ether another issue. m. ias volved in bringing tog hus and ent their continued belief making this pubbehind this issue for for supporting us and sers erti adv the nk tha age all readers I want to our enc to ty uni me take this opport lication possible. Let sers. to support our adverti ies come all feedback, stor t of the team. We wel .

We want you to be par ine gaz ma r after all, this is you d and and images because ots Magazine in han to sit back with Grassro Now please take time enjoy.

July, Thank you and until Jason.

Next Issue: July Preview: • •

Dairy Expansion Part 2 Angling Rights

Please send us any stories, news items, images or anything else that you might consider of interest to us.

To: editorgrassroots@gmail.com Also Facebook and Twitter

nvas print Win your image in ca edited in print and see your work cr Send your photographs to:

info@grassrootsmag.ie

Issue June 2013 Editorial: Editor: Jason Webb Email: editorgrassroots@gmail.com Tweets: twitter.com/Ed_GrassRoots Friend: facebook.com/ed.grassroots

Advertising: 086 4684411 or 086 4664488 williamwills@grassrootsmag.ie sales@grassrootsmag.ie Magazine Layout/ Design: Katharina Walter Advert Design: Charlie Geary

Distribution and Publisher: Grassroots Media Ltd Next Issue distribution – 15,000 www.grassrootsmag.ie

Photography: Eddie Drea, Maria Kelly, Flickr (creative commons), Victoria Deane, Paul Linehan

Contributors: Carly Dolan, Caroline Burgess, Dr. Dan Ryan, Jackie W.B., Joe McCarthy, Paul O’Sullivan, Stephen Dowling, Victoria Deane

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any shape or form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocoping or otherwise without written permission of the publishers, Grassroots Media Ltd. Whilst every care is taken of submitted MSS, photographs, drawings and content, no responsibility can be accepted for their loss or damage.

Grassroots Media Ltd does not accept responsibility for the quality or content of advertisements or articles supplied by, or compiled under instruction from a third party. Grassroots Media Ltd does not accept responsibility for any loss or damage caused by opinion, tips and advice giving in this publication.

Grassroots Media Ltd accepts no responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributors and advertisers. In addition, while every care is taken to ensure accuracy of information contained in Grassroots Magazine, we do not accept responsibility for any errors or matters arising same.

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FARM Forestry

5

FARM Fodder Crisis

by Carly Dolan

Fodder

“Farmers are experiencing one of their most difficult years, with a cold and wet spring limiting grass production and grazing conditions.”

Farmers are experiencing one of their most difficult years, with a cold and wet spring limiting grass production and grazing conditions on the back of the worst fodder shortage in 50 years.

While we can’t change the weather, are there lessons to be learnt from the 2013 crisis?

The situation reached crisis point in April this year when reports came in of starving animals and farmers unable to meet their increasing financial demands. Emergency funding for imported fodder was granted by the Irish government and continued into May. The estimated cost of extra feedstuff sits at €200 million this year, and that doesn’t include the knock-on costs farmers will face, such as a decline in the quality of their livestock going to slaughter.

Teagasc’s advice to farmers is to keep the silage ground in for grazing and hold rotation lengths at around 25 days during the prolonged spell of difficult weather.

What can we learn?

Lessons should be learnt from this year’s crisis, according to farming experts; planning ahead being the most important one.

How much fodder do you have? Calculate the amount of silage you have either in a pit or as round bales to determine tonnage.

“Grass growing potential should be

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optimised over the next six weeks for first and second cuts of silage,” Teagasc’s Dr Siobhan Kavanagh said.

“May and June are the peak grass growing months.”

How much fodder do you need? This calculation will depend on the size of your animals and the level of concentrates on offer. But for a loose example, an average cow needs between 45kg and 50kg of pit silage per day, while a weanling will consume between 25kg to 30kg per day along with 2kg of meal. If you have determined that you will not have enough fodder for the winter, you need to take immediate action. Instead of paying a premium price for extra silage in a low quality year, it can sometimes be more cost-effective to purchase additional concentrates, therefore reducing your silage demand.

Looking ahead There has been a general improvement in grass growth rates since April, especially in Ireland’s drier areas. May saw a bout of good weather, easing the country’s fodder crisis, however, farm cash flows are expected to remain tight for the remainder of the year as a result of the fodder shortage and late spring.

“Early planning is critical to deal with the likely fodder deficit on many livestock farms next winter,” Dr Kavanagh said.

“Acting opens up more options. There is no reserve of silage on farms now – ensure there is a buffer to allow for silage feeding at the shoulder of the year.”

FARM Forestry

FARM Forestry

Crisis

Urgent Action Needed – Get Fertiliser Out Now

Deal with a Deficit Early Examine the options:

•

One tonne of nitrogen will grow 60 bales of silage.

•

Talk to your neighbours about options

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Silage ground must be fertilised immediately if it has not already been. Apply 80 – 100 units of Nitrogen per acre.

•

Buy silage

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Short term grazing to reduce demand

Apply nitrogen after every grazing. June is a peak grass growing months and surpluses can be baled.

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Restricted silage / straw + meals

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Whole crop cereals / beet / maize silage

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Brassica crops

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Alternative wet feeds

•

•

Bring more land into forage production

Reduce Grass and Silage Demand •

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Cattle that are near finishing should be housed and finished on meals Unproductive breeding stock empty and cull cows - should be sold as soon as they are fit to sell.

Do a Fodder Budget

•

Do your fodder budget at critical times – end of June / end of September

•

Allow a 20% buffer

Act now Deal with the financial pressure on your business. Complete a financial plan with your adviser / consultant / accountant and talk to your bank.

Keep Talking! There is help available.

There are others in a similar situation.

Advice is available from Teagasc Agricultural Consultants, whether you are a client or not.

You can call the Department of Agric ulture’s emergency helpline on:

1850 211 990 or 01 60

72379

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FARM Fodder Crisis

Flying support for fodder More than 220 acres of grass cuttings from the airfield at Dublin Airport was made available to farmers in the later part of May, according to the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA).

With good weather conditions in place, grass cutting got underway on Monday, May the 20th on the airfield at Dublin Airport. The grass is being donated to farmers in order to help alleviate the current fodder crisis.

A DAA spokesperson said the company was "delighted that the grass from our airfield is going to farmers who need it to feed their livestock."

The grass at Dublin Airport is managed in order to deter birds nesting or feeding on the airfield and grass cutting is undertaken in a specific way so that airport operations are not affected.

The operation is being coordinated with the DAA’s grass cutting contractor and the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA). The grass is being donated free of charge.

Shannon Airport had earlier donated the grass around their airfield in an attempt to help farmers in the Shannon region during the fodder crisis.

Germinal AD ?

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FARM Fodder Crisis

Column

Rebuilding Fodder Banks

Following a very long and extended feeding season for all stock over the winter of 2012 and spring 2013 farmers are now turning their attention to how they can rebuild their fodder bank ensuring they have sufficient feed on farm for this coming winter.

Paul Flanagan, forage crops expert from Seed Technology Ltd, Waterford has been ask the following question: “How can I ensure that I maximise my fodder crops in 2013 to ensure I build up my forage bank for this winter and spring 2014?”

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Paul recommends a number of options available to farmers such as KALE, STUBBLE TURNIPS FORAGE RAPE, which can be used to supplement forage requirement in the autumn of 2013. Paul comments ‘these crops can be used as a direct re-placement for silage or can be grazed in situ thereby extending the grazing season and allowing farmers the option of outwintering some of their livestock.

Planting KALE, STUBBLE TURNIPS or FORAGE RAPE is a very viable option to buffer up reducing feed stocks on farm. Alternatively

Westerwolds grasses and Italian Ryegrass may also be used to bulk up silage stocks quickly as they are extremely quick to grow and produce big yields of grass’.

For further advice on forage options available in the coming months:

contact: Seed Technology Ltd’s team of forage experts on 051 832814

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FARM Fodder Crisis

MEP Marian Larkin calls for funds to bridge fodder gap into June “IF the government was seriously interested in creating or sustaining jobs it would provide sufficient funds to bridge the fodder gap which will persist for at least the next month in areas with adverse soil conditions.”

This was stated by Independent MEP Marian Harkin when she insisted that helping to preserve livestock numbers on farms was much more certain of achieving a financial gain for the economy than the €5.2 in government grants announced at the end of May to ‘achieve 70 jobs within three years’ and in the case of the €6.9 million research grants provided to,as stated, ‘ultimately to create the quality sustainable jobs we need’.

Marian Harkin said “Every animal of the huge numbers currently going to knack-

eries results in an immediate financial loss to the farmer and a consequential loss of at least €1,000 per animal in added value foregone. It therefore makes obvious commercial sense for the government to invest in preserving the national herd which will provide a definite contribution to the economy in the future. This certainly contrasts with the hope element involved in the multi millions in grants announced this week and which for instance, included funding of ‘research to develop genetically modified crops tolerant to drought’.

This work in Galway University while it is important is particularly ironic in the context of the serious fodder situation of many farmers in Connacht.”

“I respect the need for the investments of the type made by the Government this week but in the context of value for money I suggest that a continuation of

the government subvention to provide fodder to preserve the future raw material for the food industry would be much more certain of a real return on the very small investment needed.”

“There is also a significant social gain to be obtained from an investment which would ease the intolerable pressure on many farmers and provide breathing space for them to contend with the problem of providing sufficient fodder for next winter and avoid the situation which is causing so much loss and distress currently. The Minister, in making a decision to continue to support the supply of fodder, must acknowledge that while some parts of the country do not have a serious problem there are those areas where every day continues to be a nightmare and where every day involves unbearable stress on top of commercial loss.”

FARM News

Nitrates Regulations Relaxed Farmers faced with slow growth in recent months can benefit from a relaxing of nitrates regulations, Simon Coveney, Minister for Agriculture has announced.

The decision to relax measures in nitrates regulations was made in conjunction with Environment Minister Phil Hogan to avoid more fodder shortages this winter. Harold Kingston, Environment and Rural Affairs Chairman at the Irish Farmers Association said that after a prolonged winter, the rule change is vital. “Farmers across the country have had to use exceptional levels of concentrates over the last twelve months, due to the wet weath-

er and poor grass growth during the summer months, and to substitute poor quality silage which was fed during the prolonged winter. “Grass needs available sources of phospho-

rous now, to get growth going immediately. This announcement should help to reduce the pressure of further fodder shortages on farms later in the year”.

FARM News

Sean Kelly MEP predicts 2013 reference year at Agri Consultants AGM Addressing the Agricultural Consultants Association(ACA) AGM in Dublin Sean Kelly MEP for Ireland South predicted a 2013 reference year for the new Single Farm Payment regime between 2015-2019. With the 15th of May deadline for 2013 applications just past consultants in the audience were calculating the implications for clients.

There is still and opportunity to amend an application before the 31st of May. The former head of the GAA was raised on a farm in his native Kerry and was comfortable in the agric environment explaining the role of the EU Parliament in finalising the ongoing EU CAP reform. There are critical dates coming up at the end of June where the Parliament vote on the reform, farmers and consultants will be watching and waiting for the final deal.

The Parliament may cause the CAP to be reviewed on a more ongoing basis in future to due to the 5 year cycle of elections. To date the CAP has been reformed every 7 years.

“We have the land, farmers, knowledge, research, and innovation so let’s go and put a sustainable system in place to disseminate the advice and meet Food Harvest 2020 targets”.

President of the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) Michael Brady challenged members to be ready take up new work opportunities with the reduction in frontline Teagasc advisory staff due to the public recruitment ban.

Of 572 advisors on the Dept of Agriculture accredited CC-FAS list 60% are now private consultants. Brady called on the Minster for Agriculture Simon Coveney to support a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between ACA and Teagasc to create the best advisory system in the world for Irish Farmers.

SuperValu helped fund for fodder

SuperValu, Ireland’s leading community retailer, partnered with Kepak and Oliver Carty Ltd. in establishing a €250,000 fund for Irish farmers which helped purchase fodder. The fund was administered by the Irish Farmers Association (IFA). Martin Kelleher, Managing Director, SuperValu, said, “As the number one supporter of Irish food producers and the farming industry, we are keenly aware of the difficulties currently facing Irish farmers all over the country.

Our business is heavily reliant upon the Irish agri-food sector and we recognise we have a responsibility to our suppliers and the farming community as a whole. We along with our partners, Kepak and Ted Carty Ltd. are committed to protecting Irish farming and Irish farm families, through this current crisis.”

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Decline in farm income

A preliminary estimate of the Teagasc National Farm Survey results show that family farm income decreased by 15 per cent in 2012, bringing the average income figure for the farming sector to €25,483.

Speaking at the launch of the results in Dublin on Tuesday, 14 May, Dr Thia Hennessy, Head of the Teagasc National Farm Survey said: “While agricultural commodity prices remained relatively favourable in 2012, the inclement weather adversely affected production costs and crop yields. In particular, dairy farms were impacted by the wet summer and direct costs of production increased by 21 per cent.”

She also stressed that “many farmers depleted their stock of winter fodder early last autumn and this is likely to have further negative implications for income this year.”

“The €25,483 is the average income for the full population of approximately 80,000 farms and this conceals the

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large variation that exists across the different farming enterprises. The average income on dairy farms was €51,648, compared to just €11,743 on Cattle Rearing farms,” said Brian Moran of Teagasc’s National Farm Survey.

Farming continues to remain highly reliant on direct support payments. The average direct payment per farm was €20,534 comprising 81 percent of farm income. The Single Farm Payment, which is currently the topic of negotiation in the ongoing Common Agricultural Policy talks, continues to be the most important component of direct payments. It comprises 58 per cent of farm incomes on average and over 80 per cent of income on cattle farms.

Low levels of profitability continue to be a problem for a large number of farms and only about one-third of farms are economically viable farm businesses.

Almost 26,104 farm households are economically vulnerable, i.e. the business is not viable and neither the farm-

er nor the spouse works off the farm.

The availability of off-farm employment opportunities continued to contract in 2012 and the number of farmers working off the farm fell for the sixth consecutive year. The proportion of farmers also engaged in off farm employment fell from 30 per cent in 2011 to 27 per cent in 2012.

Falling milk prices coupled with a significant increase in expenditure on feed stuffs led to a reduction of 24 per cent in the average income on dairy farms in 2012. However, 2011 was a particularly good year and the 2012 income still remains slightly ahead of 2010 levels.

Beef prices remained reasonably good in 2012, but again increased input expenditure eroded the gain in output, and income on cattle farms fell by 8 per cent.

Following a poor harvest globally, grain prices were also quite strong in 2012.

However the price increase was not sufficient to offset the poor yields and income on tillage farms fell by 4 per cent.

Animal Health & Welfare Bill passed The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD, has announced that that the Animal Health & Welfare Bill has now been passed by both houses of the Oireachtas.Welcoming the passage of the Bill through the Oireachtas, Minister Coveney said that the bill represents a significant step forward in the area of animal health and welfare law. It is a major piece of legislation, containing seventy eight sections, updating and replacing a wide range of existing legislation, some which, such as the Protection of Animals Act 1911, are over a century old.

The Minister said that the Bill includes new provisions which will lead to greater protection of animals. It will allow the courts to bar individuals convicted of serious animal welfare offences from keeping animals. The Bill also strengthens laws on animal baiting and dog fighting so that for the first time those attending dogfights will be liable for prosecution before our courts.

More generally, there are a range of specific requirements being placed upon animal keepers requiring that animals be fed, watered, given suitable housing and checked regularly. Minister Coveney acknowledged that the vast majority of responsible animal keepers are already complying with these requirements but the new provisions provide more effective tools to ensure

that the tiny minority who do not care for their animals properly can be dealt with appropriately and quickly before animal welfare problems escalate. A provision to enable the microchipping of dogs has also been included in the Bill.

The Minister said that the risks of animal disease have grown significantly since the Diseases of Animals Act 1966. There is far greater movement of animals, animal products and people.

Therefore Ireland needs to ensure it has robust biosecurity procedures and that the State can act not just when there is a disease outbreak but in a

preventative way, focused on reducing risk. Nevertheless, the Animal Health & Welfare Bill also foresees strong action, where necessary, with fines and imprisonment being prescribed where disease is spread intentionally. Ireland has had significant success in protecting itself from animal disease and the Animal Health & Welfare Bill will build upon this success.

The Minister said “It should be remembered that this Bill will apply across the board, both to rural and urban areas and to all animals whether they be commercial, domestic or other. Existing lawful activity is not interfered with but the duty of care owed to animals is made much clearer. Therefore I have sought a balance between the differing demands being made upon me during the drafting of the Bill.�

Concluding, Minister Coveney, noting that he had accepted a large number of amendments to the Bill, thanked all parties in the Oireachtas for their very constructive participation in the debate on the Bill on its journey through both Houses. The Animal Health & Welfare Bill will be sent to the President shortly and following his signing will be published as an Act and commenced into law. Following this, there will be a number of specific tasks, including a public consultation on the issue of microchipping of dogs.

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FARM Forestry

by Paul O’Sullivan

Taking This month’s EU partial moratorium on the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides, commonly referred to as neonics, is being touted as a victory for a pro-bee lobby and an ecological concept termed the precautionary principle. But the scientific evidence on which the ban is based is still hotly disputed and alternatives for farmers remain unclear.

Imidacloprid. Clothianidin. Thiamethoxam. Three words you’re unlikely to recognise, unless you farm pollinating crops. These are the substances the EU Commission voted to ban, commencing this December and subject to review after two years. Ireland showed skepticism for the measure by voting against the proposal in March and abstaining from the most recent vote, as did the UK. Same vote, same reason: lack of scientific evidence. And, in Ireland’s case, a relatively small land devoted to pollinating crops like oilseed rape.

In Europe, one of the 12 Irish MEP’s signed a petition sent from the Parliament to the Commission on the ban.

‘Thirty scientific studies show the harmful effects of neonicotinoids on bee populations,’ said MEP Northwest Marian Harkin, citing an article in The Guardian. ‘The European Food Standards Authority published three studies, recommending the risk assessment for these chemicals was insufficient. That’s enough proof for me.’

The European Food Standards Authority told GrassRoots Magazine it was not in a position to comment as the EFSA ‘has no involvement at all in the decision-making process for authorisations.’

Like nicotine, neonics affect the central nervous system. Much of the re-

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FARM News

the Sting out of neonicotinoids

Imidacloprid. Clothianidin. Thiamethoxam. Three words you’re unlikely to recognise, unless you farm pollinating crops.

These are the substances the EU Commission voted to ban.

search shows sub-lethal effects on reproduction, honing and foraging capabilities. Although the chemicals cited may not kill the bees outright, the bee’s ability to navigate between flower and hive, communicate to other bees of rich nectar sources, a ritual known as the waggle dance, limits a colony’s capability to survive between seasons.

‘This was a bad day for Irish farmers and indeed agriculture across Europe,’ said Dr. Julian Little, spokesperson for Bayer, the German chemical company producing Imidacloprid and Clothianidin. ‘The scientific evidence supporting the ban is laboratory based. All the field evidence suggests that used under normal conditions these chemicals pose no harm to bee populations.’

Philip MacCabe, President of the European Commission of the Apimondi , who welcomes the ban but is critical of its timing, cites losses on the east coast near agricultural land compared to colonies kept in upland areas of Fermanagh as anecdotal evidence of the effects of pesticides on bee populations.

‘The wetness of last summer could be a factor. In order to mate, queen bees must mate with 30 drone ‘on the fly’, which they will not do in wet weather.

But we’ve always had that problem in Ireland. Every year I can expect to lose one or two colonies, but nowhere near half to sixty-percent. Plus, my

queens from 2011 should have survived, but they didn’t. Countries like France, Germany and Slovenia have been experiencing the same losses as we have here and the UK. Same losses, but the weather is different.’

With decreasing bee populations the effects of these pesticides have come under the scrutiny of the scientific community, particularly in the last five years. However, with multiple factors such as climate change, bee habitat loss, viruses such as that spread by the Varroa mite and widespread use of other pesticides to consider, the damage to bee populations has been difficult to pin on neonics alone.

‘Although a lot of research has been carried out, there are still gaps,’ says Dr. Jane Stout, Senior Lecturer and Research Group Leader at the Ecological Department of Trinity College.

‘This (the moratorium) gives us a two year window to see exactly what is happening. The unfortunate thing is that with such widespread use of pesticides it is difficult to undertake controlled experiments in the field.’

Phd student Dara Stanley from the same department was keen to point out that although economics has forced the argument to focus predominantly on honey bees, neonics affect all types of bee, of which there are 101 species nationally. Ms. Stanley is one of a group of scientists that has recently published a study on bee colonies in rapeseed oil fields, a crop

which has increased three-fold over the last five years in Ireland.

Declining bee populations and colony collapse has been occurring across North America and Western Europe for a number of years. The causes aren’t the same, however. In North America, large scale transportation of colonies for pollination of particular crops such as California’s almond crop estimated to require pollination by an estimated 1.2 million colonies transported from all parts of the U.S, is to blame. Other countries like New Zealand, where industry organisations reacted angrily to the ban, will benefit from data collected during the moratorium.

“While you could say New Zealand is taking a less restrictive approach, in our view, we will be better informed by research being undertaken in Europe. This is something we expect within thenext two years, when the EU reviews the partial restriction it is imposing,” Vice President of Federated Farmers Dr. William Rolleston told the NZFarmer website. It remains to be seen what farmers of pollinating crops will use as a substitute.

On an issue that has reputedly threatened a key player in ecosystems, divided scientific opinion, cost industries billions food producers it seems there is little that can be done other than to wait and see.

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FARM News

JFC Innovation “Moominder, an innovative new product that constantly measures a cow’s temperature, won the overall prize at the 2013 JFC Innovation Awards for Rural Business.”

Moominder, an innovative new product that constantly measures a cow’s temperature, won the overall prize at the 2013 JFC Innovation Awards for Rural Business, which was presented in Newry this week. Moominder was one of fourteen finalists, shortlisted from 67 entrants, competing in the JFC Innovation competition. The competition is sponsored by JFC manufacturing and run in conjunction with Teagasc, the Irish Farmers Journal and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland (DARDNI).

“These awards exemplify the characteristics of quality and innovation.“ Moominder is a system developed by part time farmer and software engineer Albert Moylan from Gort in County Galway.

Albert has been joined by Pat O’ Donnell and Michael Quinlan in the business.

Moominder allows a farmer to be notified, via text message, with an update on each cow in their herd if they are calving. An ear tag with a sensor is attached to each cow’s ear to measure the cow’s temperature. A cow’s

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temperature drops before she calves, Chris McGillycuddy – www.clubcolours.ie , which triggers the text notification to Merchandising and fund raising solution for clubs the farmer.

The possibility of using the systems to identify when cows are sick or even when they are ready for mating, based on a rise in temperature, is being examined.

Mark Carr and Sean Donnelly, - East Wind Energy Ltd Aidan Rob – Cargo Defenders, anti theft device for curtain side trailers

Cynthia Coleman - Fluffy Sheep Quilting When a cow is ready for mating her temperature rises. Details Speaking at the presentation of the of the system are available on: awards, Teagasc Director, Professor www.moominder.ie Gerry Boyle congratulated all of the finalists on their entrepreneurial spirit The other category winners in the and their drive and determination to decompetition were: velop successful businesses.

Energy/manufacturing : Raymond Boyd, Boyd “These awards exemplify the characterBedding istics of quality and innovation. I would Artisan/Speciality food: Adrian Morrow and like to thank the sponsors of the awards.

Peter Hannon, Glenarm Shorthorn salt-aged JFC and John Concannon are great beef supporters of innovation, and I would Services/Rural Tourism: William Sullivan, Irish also like to thank the Department of Military War Museum Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland, the Irish Farmers Social Media: Jacqueline McGonigle, Journal and the Rural Development www.whatsonni.com team in Teagasc for organising this event.”

The other finalists were: Alan Winters and Ger Daly – Alstrong Ltd, John Concannon said that these awards are all about encouraging innoNew concept in soil aeration vation, enterprise and community spirit.

Janette O’Hagan - Heatboss He commended all of the participants in David and Helen Harrison - Harrison’s of Grey the competition for ‘making things hapAbbey pen’ by creating a job for themselves and for others in their businesses.

Daniel Connolly, -Recon Waste Management Ltd, recycling motorway waste Eileen McClure - Kitchen Incubators Kerry

FARM Forestry

Awards for Rural Business

Finalists Alan Winters and Ger Daly with their business ‘Alstrong Ltd’

JFC overall winners: Albert Moylan, Pat O’Donnell (not present) and Michael Quinlan from ‘Moominder’ pictured with John Concannon, MD of JFC.

Finalist Jacqueline McGonigle with the social media site ‘Whatsonni. com’ pictured with John Concannon, MD of JFC.

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FARM Dairy

Dr. Dan Ryan

Breeding

Fodder shortages, poor grass growth rates, increased stock numbers and limited housing space have resulted in poor reproductive performance.

Act now to maximise pregnancy rates in your dairy herd.

Breeding programmes for grassbased spring calving systems are now nearing mid-way. Fodder shortages, poor grass growth rates, increased stock numbers and limited housing space have resulted in poor reproductive performance to date where cows have been compromised.

It is essential that you have fit cows and heifers for your breeding programme. It will pay to feed concentrates to cows at grass while a breeding programme is in place. This may be an extraordinary year in terms of grass growth, but we need to reflect

on the need for insurance in the business which will see a return to increased stocks of silage to facilitate risk periods associated with poor grass growth and ground conditions.

How do we address the current status of the breeding programme? It is essential to get a full picture of herd health status. This can be achieved by scanning the reproductive tract of each cow in the herd. CowsDNA have developed USART technology which provides you with a report detailing the fitness of your cows for breeding*.

This unique scanning technology can be used by you to make better informed decisions about the management of your herd. At this stage of the

breeding programme, you have cows not detected in heat for AI. These will consist of late calvers less than forty five days calved and cows which are eligible for service but not detected in heat. The USART technology will identify if those cows are cycling and at what stage of the heat cycle the cows are in. This information will allow you to plan the breeding of cows not AI’d to date.

It is essential to scan cows that are served over twenty days. This will enable the identification of cows which have had embryonic mortality. Embryonic death will prevent cows from returning to heat. The pregnancy consists of the embryo proper and trophoblast that will ultimately form the afterbirth. The trophoblast provides the signal for pregnancy.

Even though the embryo dies, the pregnancy state will be maintained by the pregnancy signal produced from the trophoblast. This ultimately results in cows not returning to heat for up to nine weeks after embryonic mortality. Up to 10% of cows will have embryonic mortality beyond 20 days after breeding, which can cost an average of â‚Ź250 per case. The USART technology can accurately identify embryonic mortality enabling corrective action for cows to return to heat for breeding and reduced days open.

Non return rates may suggest pregnancy rates close to 70%.

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FARM Dairy

Programmes Dr. Dan Ryan and technician Sean Ramsbottom.

Late embryonic mortality, missed repeats and reproductive abnormalities will result in a true pregnancy rate close to 50% in cows. The hidden cost of just one missed opportunity for breeding at this stage of the breeding season is â‚Ź250 per missed heat**.

USART Technology will cost the farmer â‚Ź550 for a 100 cow herd giving a potential nine-fold return on investment.

day 35 of gestation and subsequent loss of pregnancies is less than 5% except in the case of multiple pregnancies.

The incidence of twins is greater in high production type cows. However, the risk of embryonic/foetal mortality can be as high as 50% where twins are in the one horn. USART technology can accurately identify the type of twin pregnancy and the associated risk of pregnancy loss.

CowsDNA consider the scanning of cows prior to 35 days of pregnancy as non-pregnancy diagnosis. Implantation of the embryo is only complete at

CowsDNA always recommend a second scan four weeks later for those cows carrying twins.

Lush grass regrowths with rapid up-

take of nitrogen can compromise fertility. Keep a vigilant eye on butterfat to protein ratios. The risk of acidosis is high when fibre is minimal in fresh grass regrowths. A drop in the butterfat to protein ratio indicating acidosis needs to be addressed by inclusion of a fibre source in the diet.

In conclusion, corrective action can be taken now to maximize pregnancy rates in your dairy herd. The innovative USART technology offers you the opportunity to take control of your breeding programme.

Dr. Dan Ryan is a breeding management consultant and can be contacted at CowsDNA.com

* USART (Ultragraphic Assessment of the Reproductive Tract) ** Teagasc Advisory Newsletter June 2010 CowsDNA.com

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FARM Dairy Expansion

Interview with Padraig French He is the head of department at the Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre at Teagasc, Moorepark.

Grassroots Magazine spoke to him about dairy expansion, lessons learned for the Greenfield Dairy Programme and his vision for Irelands dairy growth potential into the future.

What are the factors that affect expansion in a post quota Ireland?

Increased milk production will be primarily driven by increased cow numbers and to a lesser extent from increased yield per cow in a ratio of about 2:1 The increased yield will come from longer lactations due to earlier calving and better autumn nutrition, the increased cow numbers will be accommodated from increased specialisation, stocking rates and land areas on existing dairy farms and some conversions of other enterprises to dairy.

What are the factors that limit expansion in a post quota Ireland?

Padraig French

What is the limit to sustainable dairy expansion in Ireland?

In a post quota environment the main limiting factor will be the amount of grass we can grow and utilise. This will be constrained by the amount of land available to dairy farmers and by the fertility and species of the pastures used.

Currently the average dairy farm is utilising 7.5 t DM/ha whereas some farmers are achieving over 11 t DM/ ha. We could overcome this limitation by using bought-in feeds to achieve higher output however the margin in Ireland from converting bought-in feeds is too low adequately remunerate the extra capital employed.

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1)

Land mobility and pasture production

2)

Access to capital

3)

Skilled dairy farm managers

What risk management strategies should a farmer have in place before considering dairy expansion?

Like any business development there are numerous risks associated with expansion. These include financial risks (milk price, feed price, fertiliser price, interest rates, etc), weather risks (wet conditions (Summer 2012) and cold conditions (Spring 2013)) all which affect the viability of the business.. As a dairy farm expands the risks do not change but their affect on the dairy business do change and the probability of events occurring increases. The reasons include higher levels of borrowings, higher cash de-

mands, increased animal numbers and increased grazing intensity and more likelihood to be purchasing animals into the herd. When developing the farm business the focus should not be to protect against all risks, rather the focus should be centred on identifying the key risks which put the business at risk, identifying the contributing factor which is increasing the likelihood of that risk affecting the business and developing mitigation strategies to reduce the farms exposure.

The level of indebtedness that any dairy business can afford has to be considered in the context of the overall farm business and the repayment capacity of the farm.

There are a number of varying factors that should be considered when calculating repayment capacity other than technical efficiency such as the level of drawings required, the cost of hired labour, the land rental/leasing cost and the tax liability.

As a general rule of thumb the combined annual cost of labour, drawings, debt and tax should not exceed â‚Ź700/ cow on the most efficient farms and â‚Ź400/cow on the average farms after the expansion phase has been completed.

Farms with below average levels of profitability should not consider expansion as the return will be too low to justify the investment and they would expose the business to financial failure in low milk price years. For these farmers the return from focusing on

FARM Dairy Expansion

increased efficiency will be far greater What are the options to expand that are available to dairy farmers with limited land base?

The first and most rewarding option will be to maximise the amount of grass grown and utilised on the land base. This will require an investment in soil fertility and pasture renewal but will give an excellent return on investment.

Once the existing land base is maximised in grass production and utilisation there is little economic advantage from attempting to buy in feed to increase output, the results will be marginal at best, will increase risk and give a very poor return to the extra labour and capital required.

The best strategy for someone with a fully exploited land base that wants to grow their business is to acquire extra land through leasing/partnerships or relocating.

What is the limit in regards to sustainable stocking rate in a dairy unit?

The limit in stocking rate is dependent on the amount of grass grown, spring calving dairy cows producing 400 kg milk solids require about 4.6 t feed of which 0.5t approx. will come from purchased grain requiring about 4.1 t from grass/grass silage.

Grass and grass silage utilisation is about 75% on well run farms. This would imply a requirement of 5 t grown per cow.

The average pasture is currently growing about 10 t and could therefore only support about 2 cows/ha.

However, well managed pastures can grow between 12.5 and 14 t and are therefore capable of supporting between 2.5 and 2.8 cows/ha.

limits productivity such as farm roadways, water systems, paddocks etc.

What lessons can new entrants or expanding dairy farmers learn from the Greenfield Dairy Programme in terms of financial performance?

1) expanded/expanding dairy farms puts more stress on animals and therefore robust cow with high genetic merit for fertility are essential

1) Cash flow is very tight for the first few years

2) Farmers should prioritise capital investment in livestock, a small increase in the funds available to buy stock has a big effect on the type of stock one can purchase

2) Cash flow management is absolutely critical for expanding dairy operations 3) Heavily indebted farms should build cash reserves in good years to insulate for poor milk price years 4) The business plan should be stress tested for milk price and performance shocks What lessons can new entrants or expanding dairy farmers learn from the Greenfield Dairy Programme in terms of infrastructure?

1) Allow at least 18 months to plan and construct any major farm infrastructure development prior to it’s requirement 2) Project management of major development takes time and this needs to be factored into ongoing operations.

3) Priority for capital investment should be given to infrastructure that

What lessons can new entrants or expanding dairy farmers learn from the Greenfield Dairy Programme in terms of genetics?

What is your personal vision for dairy expansion in Ireland in the coming years?

Dairy farming is the most profitable land use enterprise in Ireland and we can compete globally with our product provided we maintain our focus on the utilisation of grazed grass. There will be a lot of pressure applied on farmers post quotas to move into higher input systems which will increase risk and give poor return for the extra work and cost.

My vision is that we will return to the growth rate we had pre-quotas of 5-6% per annum driven by higher grass production and utilisation on farms and that expanded businesses will improve the livelihoods of all the farmers who partake and that dairy farming will be seen as an attractive career for young people with a range of career paths into the industry

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FARM Dairy Expansion

Interview Dr. Edmond Harty A Masters View. Dr. Edmond Harty, CEO of Dairymaster, has seen dairy expansion first hand throughout the world.

On a recent trip to the Dairymaster operation in Causeway, Co. Kerry, Grassroots Magazine took time to speak to Edmond on his views on dairy expansion in Ireland at farm level and with regards to the world market.

I believe we should be famous for producing the best food in the world. This should be the objective of everyone in the industry from farmers to food processors. If we go abroad then we can say “you know Ireland produces the best food in the world, well at Dairymaster we produce equipment for helping produce the best food in the world”.

Have you experienced this on your travels?

Dr. Edmond Harty

What is your view of Dairy Expansion in a post quota period?

The thing first of all is if you look at the world. What opportunity is there for Ireland? For me there’s a huge opportunity there. The point I make is the world’s population is growing at a rate of 200,000 a day, or the equivalent population of the island of Ireland every month. There is a huge need for food. Ireland wants to be famous for food. So if somebody thinks about Ireland, what you want them to think about is good, healthy, well produced food. I think that suits two of our industries, agriculture and tourism.

One of the times I was over in Japan with our distributor and we visited a potential customer. He was a large farmer for Japan with 300 cows. When introduced by our distributor it was explained to him that we were from the headquarters in Ireland. The next point we had to explain was exactly where Ireland was located as he didn’t know.

Once we mentioned “Next to England”, that is how he got where we were from.

If you think about it a country with a population of around 4 million, over in that part of the world would you know about it? You might not. He said to us name 5 brands you’re famous for in Ireland, he was trying to figure out what were we known for. I believe that as a country we should be trying to answer that question so that Ireland is known in every part of the world.

Fortunately the Japanese farmer became a customer and now we have many reference sites in Japan but it can show you the difficulties you can encounter along the way.

How do you see Ireland improving this?

Our whole industry should be coming together saying, right twenty year’s time what do we want to be known for? Is it the best food in the world? The cheapest food in the world? I don’t think it should be the cheapest food in the world because it means our farm gate prices will be squeezed and squeezed. I don’t think that’s where we want to be.

We need the whole industry to want to be known for the best food, then we need to know from each industry what this means for each person. What do we all have to do to get there?

Then we create a demand for our product and our food and then we can get a good price for it. Some economists have the view for the future that food would become the next oil. If this is to be the case we need to have a clear direction forward with all the industry working together.

What will Irelands impact be worldwide with dairy expansion in 2015?

We’re still only a small population.

Even if we increased our food output by 50% it would still only be a drop in the ocean. We need to be looking at these areas. Every set up needs to be focusing on this so we can improve. There’s a saying I always say, if you always do what you always did you will always get what you always got. So do we interview continues page on page 26

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FARM Dairy Expansion

interview continues from page 24

want to keep doing what we have always done for the past number of years or if the quota comes off how do want our industry to look in the next 5 years. That’s my thinking on the quota, there’s a huge opportunity there.

You also have to think what can go wrong. Take for example the horse meat scandal, you don’t want anything like that happening.

You would also want to make sure if we are at world market prices for our produce that if the floor goes out of the price we would want to be super-efficient. Not just efficient but super-efficient.

What do you see in terms of milking equipment for farm level?

The first thing I would say is you don’t have to increase herd numbers to increase output. I believe

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that there will be a lot more automation in parlours, cows being fed individually. Some customers are seeing increases of up to 5kg per cow per day since adopting automation.

I believe that products such as ACR’s and ClusterCleanse will become standard.

Other products such as electronic identification and drafting will also become more popular especially as any Dairymaster parlour is able to read the new electronic identification tag which can be purchased for €1 extra per tag from the department whereas with other makes you could be paying €60 per cow.

In the large farms I think rotaries will increase. In Ireland the starting point for a rotary parlour is about 250 cows so then the question is,

do we see a lot of 250 herds? I think that we will much more of them especially because they save labour and are really efficient.

In smaller land holdings I think portable parlours will become more popular for where people have land leased. There are some in Ireland but we have done a lot in places like Germany. I think it will depend a bit on what the customer needs.

In any case farmers should be thinking how to increase efficiency and reduce labour. This is the key way to make dairy farming more profitable, enjoyable and sustainable.

FARM Sheep

Open Day in Teagasc Athenry

With the national breeding ewe flock increasing last year and now standing at nearly 2.5 million ewes, a renewed interest in the latest production technologies available is anticipated.

A major Teagasc Open Day for sheep producers is planned for Thursday, 6 June at the Mellows Campus, Athenry, Co Galway. With the national breeding ewe flock increasing last year and now standing at nearly 2.5 million ewes, a renewed interest in the latest production technologies available is anticipated.

Achieving target drafting dates for the 2013 lamb crop coupled with conserving adequate quantities of winter feed on drystock farms will be extremely challenging.”

There will be an opportunity to visit the recently established research demonstration flock, now in its second season and get the latest results from the commercial farms in the Teagasc run sheep BETTER farm programme.

- Role of forage crops for finishing lambs

Teagasc sheep enterprise leader Michael Diskin said: “All sheep farmers are invited to this Open Day where the latest research being carried out in Teagasc and in other research centres will be available. The opportunities offered by new approaches to sheep breeding, flock health will be presented.”

Michael Gottstein, Head of the Teagasc Sheep Knowledge Transfer programme said: “The grass demonstration will be particularly interesting this year as all farmers have struggled to manage what have been extremely difficult conditions over the last 18 months for growing and utilising grass to feed their livestock. Lamb performance is substantially behind target on most farms.

Other topics covered at the open day will include: - Quality silage for sheep

- Flock health and parasite control - Grass reseeding, soil fertility and dealing with soil compaction - Economics of sheep production The Regional Veterinary Laboratories will deal with the treat of Schmallenberg virus. Sheep Ireland and University College Dublin will also have exhibits at the Open Day. This is STAP (Sheep Technology Adoption Programme) qualifying event. Registration for participants in STAP is required.

All sheep farmers should make a special effort to avail of this opportunity to get the latest technical advice.

The open day which runs from 1.00pm to 7.00pm is being kindly supported

by Kepak and MSD.

FARM Beef

by Stephen Dowling (Elite Bovine Genetics)

Fertility

Unseasonable cold weather and poor growth conditions last summer has left many Irish farms short on both fodder and grass. Such unforeseeable conditions has forced farmers into keeping animals indoors over two months longer than normal.

With this continuing crisis at the fore front of all conversation, farmers need to turn their attention back to fertility management. Excellent husbandry skills are required to take your herd through this tough period. At present, cows, as well as their calves, will face immense pressure to maintain good condition when turned out to grass.

The harsh weather mixed with poor growth conditions is increasing the risk of grass tetany for our cows. It is clear that cows now, more than ever, need their supplements, minerals and dosing all brought up to date in an effort to prevent any losses.

Two major issues facing this year’s breeding season, is the condition score of your cow and the quality of feed. Cows with a negative energy balance are less likely to be noticed cycling with many farmers reporting cows not showing signs of heat. This is most evident from the handheld units used by your local AI technician whereby inseminations are dramatically lower than this time last year.

Farms which have turned cows out to grass need to assess the condition score. Your cows may need concentrates to balance their dietary requirements while feeding on grass. Such concentrates will provide a positive energy balance, preventing early embryonic death and cows repeating later in the breeding season. Spring born calves are now becoming stronger and are now more demanding, these calves will need meal to help take unwanted pressure off your suckler cow.

Maintaining a positive energy balance is key for a successful breeding sea-

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son. Cows which continue in a negative energy balance will be served later, calve later and cost you money.

Cows which calve down late in May or June rob the calf of future weight gain in comparison to a calf born in early spring. Take action now, scan cows which have not shown signs of heat and deal with the problem now.

As management has been increasingly difficult this year, farmers need to increase their knowledge of their cow’s heat patterns and take action.

The following is a list of things that you need to keep in mind.

•

Heat detection,

•

Inseminators ability,

•

Fertility level of semen,

•

Fertility level of herd,

•

Bull performance.

Your focus should have begun well before the breeding season started.

By now pre-breeding scanning and bull fertility testing should be completed. It is advisable to monitor and record your herd’s heat cycle. Cows that have already been artificially inseminated should continue to be monitored with the rest of the herd. If you are using AI on your suckler herd and are still finding it difficult to notice your cows, I would recommend a teaser bull wearing a chin ball. This method is very effective at picking up cows in heat even if you only check your cows once a day, you will still identify your cows in oestrous.

If you’re using an AI technician or are inseminating your own cows you need to question the inseminator’s ability. Is the semen being thawed correctly at 35 degrees for 40 seconds, handled with care and is the cow being inseminated correctly? Miss handling and thermal damage, damages millions of sperm in your straw. AI straws should never be removed from the flask unless it’s to thaw in a water bath at 35 degrees. Removing them to read the bull code and placing it back into liquid nitrogen causes thermal damage killing millions of sperm. Miss use of semen will drop conception rate in your herd, but if you’re careful with your semen and manage the cow correctly, there isn’t a reason why AI wouldn’t be more successful than a stock bull.

When it comes to the fertility of an AI straw there are plenty of things that will affect the straw fertility. Outlined below are a number of guidelines to assist you in the inseminating process. Use labelling tabs to identify the required bull and also have an inventory with a listing of all your bull semen and where it is stored in your flask.

Before removing your straw, place your AI gun down your back to warm it. Next before you load the straw, thaw the straw at 35 degrees for 40 seconds and then dry it with a piece of paper. Once the gun is loaded place it down your back again to keep it close to body temperature. Clean the vulva of the cow with paper and introduce the gun which will aid you in locating the cervix. Semen should be deposited just inside the cervix in the body of the uterus, but take care because

FARM Forestry

FARM Forestry

Management through the Fodder Crisis

going too far could risk damaging the lining of the uterus and cause bleeding which will kill the sperm.

Assessing the fertility status of your herd can often be more difficult for sucker farmers because they don’t have as much interaction with their cows in comparison to their dairy counterparts. Therefore, building data on your herd can be vital to help you understand what’s going wrong or what needs to be changed. Firstly, with this year being so difficult you need to make sure your cows are on a positive diet. I would recommend that you continue to feed Spring born calves and wean your stronger calves born last Autumn to remove pressure from cows going out to grass. Next you must identify your problem cows such as non-cycling or cows with a dirty discharge. A scan will clearly identify any problems and cows can be treated accordingly. Taking action now will prevent cows being late calvers next year. Next you must identify cows that can be culled. With such poor growing conditions at present you need to think ahead to next winter and lighten the load. Older cows or cows which haven’t been performing could be removed from the main herd and fed on meal for culling over the summer months. Now is the time to consider culling unproductive cows.

therefore decreases the value on your late born calves. If you are thinking of changing your bull because of old age or he has offspring now of breeding age being kept for replacements you need to plan ahead. Buying a young bull from a sale and turning him out with a herd of cows is a disaster. If you purchased a young bull this season you need to give him a small work load this year, let him off with a few heifers or four to five cows. After season one you have seen him working and you will have some calves on the ground to see what his offspring are like before he is let out with rest of herd. By the time you reach the second season you can give him a bigger work load and reduce the work load of the older bull. The younger bull will have matured and will be better able

to manage twenty to thirty cows in his second season. This allows time for the young bull to prove himself before you removed your older bull and is the smart choice when it comes to proven stock on the ground and getting the most from your new bull.

Despite all the challenges that the unforeseeable weather has burdened the Irish farmer with, it is imperative that the farmer take the necessary step to insure that the herd can reach its true potential through proper herd management and husbandry skill.

Once herd management and proper records are in place the targets set by you can still be achieved. We here at Elite Bovine Genetics believe that proper husbandry skills combined with excellent record keeping will aid you greatly through the current crisis.

Having your bull fertility tested four to six weeks prior to his introduction to the herd is well worth the peace of mind. If there were or are problems, it allows you to act before you get into a situation that causes late calving, and

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FARM Pedigree

Emerald Limerick family wins again at Emerald Expo by taking the Supreme Championship.

The Frawley family from Croagh, Rathkeale, Co Limerick repeated their success in the 2012 show by taking the Supreme Championship and Reserve at Emerald Expo 2013, held at the Hub, Cillin Hill in Kilkenny.

The Supreme Champion and Exhibitor Bred Champion was Croagh Sussie Mist 46 Ex 90 and the Reserve went to Ridgefield Dundee Portea Ex 93. The result was a reversal of the previous year’s Expo event when the Portea cow took the Championship and Susie Mist 46 took the Reserve title.

Honourable mention this year was

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won by the Jones family, Co Wexford with Desmond Dundee Embrace. The judge officiating at the show was the well known and respected International judge Paul Trapp from USA. He placed a record entry of cows and young stock, this despite the difficult prevailing weather conditions this past spring.

Paul tapped out the Junior Champion as Clonpaddin Windbrook Fame owned by the Hurley family from Co Wicklow. Reserve went to Pat Coffey, Co Cork with Lisnacunna Dee Beauty.

The Intermediate Cham­pion was wonby Jim & Una Sinnott, Co Wexford with Ballyboy CarmenVG86. Reserve went

to the Jones family with Hallow Mojo Daisy and honourable mention went to Cyril Dowling, Co Dublin with Baldonnell Goldwyn Sublime.

Honours went to Munster again in the Pure Friesian section. Martin Crowe took the Championship with Dunum Sneacta 86 Ex91. Reserve went to Phil, Matt and Bill O Keeffe with Blackisle Laura 68 Ex 91.The O’Keeffe family also took Honourable Mention with Churchclara Blackie Circus.

The Irish Shorthorn Championship went to James Lambe with his cow, Ballytrain Julia.

FARM Forestry

FARM Forestry

Expo all images by Maria Kelly

Lau­ren O’ Toole, Bag­nal­stown ‚Co Car­ low lines up in the handler class

Ringside view of proceedings

Winning Smiles: Der­rick Fraw­ley at the hal­ter of Cham­pion Croagh Susie Mist 46 with Kat­rina & Harry Frawley

From left: Paul Trapp, Judge, Canad a, Der­rick Fraw­ley at the hal­ter of Cham p ­ ion Croagh Susie Mist 46 with his nephew Paddy Fraw­ley, Cathal McCormick, All­tech, main spon­sors, Charles Gal­lagher, C.E. IHFA, Kat­rina & Harry Frawley.

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FARM Tillage

Boost Arable Incomes

by Crimping Grain Arable farmers could boost incomes and spread their harvest workload this year by selling grain to livestock producers for crimping.

Following a number of difficult harvests, the benefits of cutting grain three to four weeks early are not to be underestimated, says feed processing specialist Kelvin Cave. “Maximum nutrient yields are achieved from crops that have not lignified and dried out – so harvesting grain at 35-40% moisture (about three weeks earlier than normal) actually increases grain dry matter yields per hectare by 15% or more. It also spreads the workload, freeing up time to cut mature crops within a weather window, and releasing land early to prepare for following crops.”

Cereals, pulses and maize can all be crimped – a process whereby crops are crushed and treated with Crimpstore preservative or similar before being ensiled. These products ensure a controlled, restricted fermentation, producing a livestock feed with optimum nutrients levels and digestibility.

“Cereals for crimping should be harvested with a moisture content between 25% and 45%; 35-40% is ideal,” says Mr Cave. “Growers can then sell to livestock producers (who are down on fodder supplies after the fodder crisis) using a simple pricing mechanism based on the dry matter content. For example, if conventional grain at 14% moisture were trading at €230/t, grain at 40% moisture would sell at €163/t.

The cereal grower doesn’t incur any

drying costs, leading to considerable savings, and by combining early they get better weed control post-harvest,” he adds. “However, grain levies will still be payable.”

The benefit for livestock producers is that crimped grain has higher nutrient value and digestibility than dry grain, leading to better animal health and productivity. “Crimped grain typically has lower mycotoxin levels, less dust, and can be clamped or bagged outside, reducing the requirement for indoor grain storage,” says Mr Cave.

Demand for all types of livestock feed is at a very high level. This is one option well worth exploring, especially in late sown spring crops due to the unseasonal spring weather this year.

FARM Machinery

FTMTA Grass & Muck 2014

The date has been confirmed for FTMTA Grass & Muck 2014 on Wednesday, May 14th, 2014,at Gurteen Agricultural College.

The date has been confirmed for FTMTA Grass & Muck 2014. The event will take place on Wednesday, May 14th, 2014, which is a change from the Thursday of the previous events. As previously announced, the event will again take place at Gurteen Agricultural College and it is hoped to build on the success of the 2010 and 2012 events. The excellent facilities and central location of Gurteen Agricultural College have proven to be a very successful site for this event and nearly 9,000 visitors attended in 2012.

The usual format of ongoing demonstrations throughout the day in the grass, reseeding, silage pit, slurry spreading and farm yard manure spreading areas will be continued as well as a large area of trade stands.

FTMTA Grass & Muck is a regular biennial event run on alternate years to the FTMTA Farm Machinery Show at Punchestown and both events are run in accordance with the ethos of “organised by the trade for the farmer and contractor”.

Full details will be issued to prospective exhibitors in the coming months. Any firm which is interested in exhibiting for the first time at the event can register their interest in advance by contacting Patrick Rogers at the FTMTA office on 045 409309 or at show@ftmta.ie

Stolen in Kilcock Meath Farm Machinery Ltd had a 6320 SE and a NEW 644 john Deere baler stolen from their Kilcock, Co. Kildare depot in the early hours of 22nd May. The tractor’s serial number is L06320E466432 and the plates are 07 MH 1027. The baler’s serial number is 1CC0644NCCD130244. If anybody has any information or sightings of any of the two machines, you can contact Meath Farm Machinery Ltd on 046 9023946.

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FARM Forestry

FARM Forestry

Krone Introduces New Mower Bed Design Every farmer and contractor is familiar with the situation that in a field of thin crops the mower struggles hard to produce clean rather than stripy cuts. The response to such conditions is Krone’s intelligent ‘SmartCut’ system, which has proven itself in initial runs by delivering outstanding results.

‘SmartCut’ means the discs are not evenly spaced: the pairs turning outwards are set closer together to increase blade overlap for stripeless work in light crops and a superb quality of cut. Vice versa, in dense crop the machine benefits from a larger gap between the discs turning towards each other to deliver a constant and smooth flow of grass to the rear without blockages and cleanest cuts at higher work rates.

In addition, all new mowers offer plenty of comfort features, including the enclosed and fully welded bed, standard quick-change blades and the ‘SafeCut’ system. SafeCut centres on a roll pin which connects each disc to the drive shaft and that shears off as the disc hits an obstacle. Upon impact, the sprocket continues revolving, so that the stopped disc jacks up on a thread and out of the operating area of its neighbouring blades, eliminating the risk of damage to the neighbouring discs.

No changes were made to the driveline, which consists of well-proven satellite gears with massive spur gears transferring the power to both ends of the bed. The large-diameter spur gears suggest moderate speeds and more teeth in mesh at any one time – to the effect of boosted efficiency, absolutely quiet running and maximum longevity. On top of this, the discs moved to a more forward position for even better cuts. The new SmartCut mower bed is used on nearly all newgeneration 2013 EasyCut mowers.

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FARM Forestry

by Carly Dolan

Forestry

Ireland’s forestry industry has unrealised potential, according to the Irish Timber Growers Association (ITGA), and earlier in May, members of the general public were able to learn all about it.

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FARM Forestry

Show

Ireland’s Forestry Industry and Woodland Heritage on Display

There was woodland craft, lumberjack timber sports, chainsaw carving, tree climbing championships and much more at the second Irish Forestry, Woodland and Bio Energy Show in Stradbally, County Laois, on May 10 and 11. Visitor numbers were up 30 per cent on the inaugural event in 2011, and more than 100 exhibitors lined the fields and forests with displays and information.

“We think we have built well upon the foundation of the first 2011 show and that we are moving strongly in the right direction and making this show an important bi-annual feature of the Irish events calendar,” Mr Wilkinson said.

“One exhibitor from the UK said he did more business selling his log processors than at any other show he had ever attending, either in the UK or anywhere else.”

“The fire log processing machinery was a real hit at this year’s show, with many of our visitors turning away from oil heating to bio fuels,” Mr Wilkinson said.

“Wood is the new oil for house holders putting in solid fuel boilers and stoves.”

A Great Success

Talking Points

Unrealised Potential

“The 2013 show has been a great success, in particular with reference to the venue, the layout of the show site, the lively atmosphere, exhibitor feedback and levels of business,” show director David Wilkinson said.

Teagasc and the ITGA Yearbook Conference Centre had displays in the general exhibition area. Qualified seed orchards achieved by the National Downy Birch Seed Orchard and the National Alder Seed Orchard were launched on the first day of the show.

The “qualified” status follows major research conducted by Teagasc to genetically improve tree quality.

The ITGA has called for the urgent appointment of a minister of state for forestry to help address the issues facing the industry, including its unrealised potential. Ireland’s forestry and timber sector is a success story in the economic downturn, employing an estimated 16,000 people across the country.

“The show site worked extremely well in that it commenced in the woodlands, travelling past horse loggers at work in conjunction with the new IT4 John Deere harvester operating twice a day, and a number of commercial exhibitors operating machinery, such as Tempest’s log processor and Logosol’s mobile sawmill.”

The demo route took visitors to the chainsaw carving exhibition in the woodlands and onto the general exhibition area. An impressive camp-style village of woodland crafts was on display at the central Copse where the Irish National Tree Climbing Championships took place in front of an excited audience.

The Irish Lumberjacks Show, which featured pole climbing, wood chopping, chainsaw racing and hot saws, was a crowd pleaser on both days.

The Teagasc and COFORD-funded birch and alder improvement programme began in 1998 when work was initiated on breeding downy and silver-birch suitable for the Irish forestry sector. In the coming years, seed and planting material will be available from the seed orchards at the much improved level.

“It was decided to start a birch improvement programme to develop additional broadleaf timber production options in Irish forestry,” Teagasc researcher Elaine O’Connor said. “High quality birch timber is suitable for high quality pulp, sawlog, veneer and turnery.

Birch is also an excellent fuel wood that is easy to handle.”

Other talks included forest thinnings for biomass, the threat of the new Ash dieback disease and guidelines on forestry valuation and taxation.

“The forestry sector has the potential to make a major contribution to our economy in both planting new forests and also in harvesting its growing wood resource through the thinning of woodlands,” ITGA chairman Brendan Lacey said. “With economic output from the wider forest and timber industry calculated at €2.2 billion annually, the sector is poised to contribute significantly to Ireland’s economy.”

During the two-day show, forestry companies received a number of enquiries from farmers who were having difficulties with the last two years of bad weather. They were looking at forestry as an alternative to crop and animal production systems.

“This is a particularly attractive option as the age profile of many farmers is getting older,” Mr Wilkinson said.

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FARM Forestry

Charleville Show AD

40

Hobbies Show Feature

by Carly Dolan

Get your sunscreen, hats, wellies and raincoats ready because it’s show season again in Ireland, and 2013 is jam-packed with competitions, demonstrations, entertainment and activities.

From cattle, sheep and horse classes to vintage machinery, games, live music and dancing, there are plenty of opportunities this summer to experience idyllic Irish country life. Here is a sneak peak of this year’s upcoming shows.

Gorey Agricultural Show This year’s Gorey Show has a huge program of competitions, displays, demonstrations, trade-stands and exhibits. It is not only an agricultural show, but one of Wexford’s most popular action-packed family days out.

Pony Clubs have been welcomed to compete in games during the day for the first time in 2013.

There are a number of activities and entertainment for children, including shoeing demonstrations and an opportunity to have a go at shearing a sheep on stage.

The Gorey Show will be held on Saturday, June 15 in Clonattin, Gorey, County Wexford.

Highlights - Dog Show - Horse Showing & Show-Jumping - Cattle & Sheep Classes - Arts & Crafts - Baking & Vegetable Classes - Dog Show & Sheep Dog Trials - Children’s Entertainment & Activities - Food Village & Trade-Stand

County Louth Agricultural Show The 124th Louth Show will feature animals, farm produce, baking and photography, along with an array of other activities and exhibits. The show was formerly known as the Dundalk Agricultural Show and is still held in the Louth town.

Show chairperson Carmel Mee says she expects the show to be an outstanding display of farm practices and traditions. “I am particularly delighted that the picturesque agricultural landscape at Bellurgan Park will provide the exact setting to encourage rural and urban communities to experience country life”.

There will be a full day of activities for children, including baking, knitting, needlework, craft, art and writing.

The County Louth Agricultural Show will take place on Sunday, June 16 at Bellurgan Park in Dundalk.

Highlights - Cattle, Sheep & Alpaca Classes - Poultry & Waterfowl Classes - Dog Show - Horse Classes - Carriage Driving - Home Industries Exhibits - Best Dressed Competitions - Children’s Baking, Needlework, Knitting, Crafts, Art & Writing - Flowers, Baking & Vegetables 41

Hobbies Show Feature

Athlone Agricultural Show

West Kerry Agricultural Show

Mullingar Agricultural Show

Following last year’s success, the Athlone Show will again be home to the popular “Made in the Midlands” Food Village, featuring local food and produce.

“More and more people want to choose high quality local foods; they want to speak to the producer to see how their product is made and what the health benefits are,” local nutritionist and chef Lynda McFarland said.

There will be a number of cattle, sheep, horse and poultry classes as well as dog show at this year’s event, alongside family entertainment and activities.

With thousands of euros in prizes up for grabs in cattle, sheep, horse and pony classes, the West Kerry Agricultural Show is set to be a crowd pleaser in its 48th year. From home-grown fruit and vegetable competitions, art and photography to animal exhibits and sheaf tossing, the day will be jampacked with activities.

There is plenty of entertainment for families and children, with a bouncy castle, Dog Show and Irish dancing, while budding artists can display their work at the arts and crafts exhibition.

An amateur photography competition made its debut last year to the arts section and is set to return in 2013.

This show has been running for more than 150 years, celebrating agriculture and industry in Westmeath and throughout the midlands. Classes on the day reflect traditional agricultural strengths of the county in pedigree and commercial cattle and sheep showing.

A large show-jumping entry is expected in the horse and pony section of the show and the event will feature the usual poultry classes and dog show, horticulture and cookery.

A large indoor and outdoor tradestand will illustrate country living, selling jodhpurs, jewellery, wellies, wine, food, fire extinguishers and more.

The West Kerry Agricultural Show will be held at the Dingle Mart Grounds on Sunday July 14.

The Mullingar Show will be held on Sunday, July 14, at the showgrounds in Culleen, Mullingar.

Highlights

Highlights

The Athlone Agricultural Show will take place at the showgrounds, Gaffey’s Farm, Moydrum, Athlone on Sunday, June 30.

Highlights - Cattle, Sheep, Goats & Poultry - Horse classes - Cookery - Dog Show - Food Village - Vintage Display - Animal Magic Zoo - Baby Show - Beer Garden - Children’s Entertainment - Live Music & Dancing

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- Agricultural Classes - Kids’ Bouncy Castle - Sheaf Tossing from North Kerry - Horticultural & Baking Competitions - Art & Craft Competitions - Photography Competitions - Dog Show & Sheep Dog Trials - Granny Gaelach & Bonny Baby

- Cattle & Sheep Showing - Horse & Pony Showing & Show-Jumping - Poultry Classes - Dog Show - Arts, Crafts & Photography - Trade-Stand - Family Entertainment

Hobbies Show Feature

Sligo County Agricultural Show

County Longford Show & Country Fair

Tullamore Show

There are a number of new and exciting events being introduced to the Sligo County Agricultural Show this year, including a Road Safety Authority Road Show, dog trials, dog grooming demonstrations, cheese-making demonstrations and potato picking.

And following its inaugural success last year, the €500 McGinty Farm Machinery Commercial Beef Calf Championship is making a return in 2013.

Other annual events will be held at this year’s show, including showing classes for horses, Connemara ponies, Welsh ponies, cattle, sheep, poultry, home industrial products and a dog show. The Sligo Show was originally held in Sligo Town until 1994 when the Riverstown Creamery Committee took over the organisation.

A special invitation to the County Longford Show & Country Fair has been issued to overseas visitors this year to coincide with The Gathering 2013. The July one-day event, which began in 1902, is steeped in country Irish tradition. Along with the usual agricultural classes for horses, ponies, cattle, sheep, goats, poultry and craft exhibits, this year there will be a variety of trade stands, displays and demonstrations. They include how to grow your own vegetables, a puppet show for children and a vintage display.

Organisers of Ireland’s biggest oneday show are gearing up for another “ultimate country lifestyle event” this August.

The Tullamore Show and AIB National Livestock Show will feature 600 trade stands, along with agricultural exhibits, entertainment, food, crafts, pets, sheep dog trials and vintage machinery. The show celebrates Ireland’s rich agricultural heritage and demonstrates Irish rural life to its annual 60,000 visitors, who travel from Ireland and around the world.

From cattle, sheep and horse competitions to domestic rare breeds and cake, flower and art displays, there will be plenty to see and do on the day.

The show will be held on Saturday, July 20, in Riverstown, County Sligo.

The Longford Show will be head in Cloonkeen, Moydow, in County Longford on Saturday, July 27.

Highlights

- Horse, Pony, Sheep, Goat, Poultry & Cattle Classes Highlights - Puppet Show - Rare Breeds - Beef Calf Championships - Live Music & Dancing - Road Show - Dog Trials, Dog Grooming Demon - Play Area for Children strations & Dog Show - Tug-of-War Competition & - Potato Picking Potato Picking Races - Guess the Weight of the Animal - Vintage Display - Horse, Pony, Cattle & Poultry Classes - Pets Corner - Home Industrial Products Classes - Dog Show - Family Entertainment

This year’s Tullamore Show will be held at the Butterfield Estate in Bluebell, Tullamore, County Offaly, on Sunday, August 11.

Highlights

- All Ireland Cattle, Horse & Sheep Competitions - Indoor & Outdoor Trade-Stand Exhibitions - Vintage Machinery - International Visitor Centre - Dog Agility Demonstrations, Dog Show & Sheep Dog Trials - Tullamore Dew Visitors Centre - Forestry & Sustainable Living - Entertainment program of music, fashion and kids’ activities - Farm Skill Demonstrations - Rare breeds, alpacas & other pets

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Hobbies Show Feature

Limerick Show

National Ploughing Championships

The Limerick Show is Munster’s largest agricultural event, featuring everything from horse show-jumping, carriage driving and cattle showing to arts, crafts, music, go-karting and juggling.

The two-day event will this year feature a Festival of Irish Breeding, presented by the Traditional Irish Horse Association. It will incorporate the famous Limerick Lady and Matron Championships and two stallion parades.

The show has a long history, with records showing that is was celebrated as far back as the 1880s before stopping in 1914 due to the First Wold War. It was revived in 1929 and has been running non-stop since then.

Laois is gearing up to host Ireland and Europe’s largest outdoor farming event in the little rural community of Ratheniska, near Portlaoise and Stradbally, returning to the area after 70 years. The event will run over three days in September, showcasing Irish food, farming and culture.

In 1931, two life-long friends from Wexford and Kildare were arguing about their respective counties having the best ploughmen. That led to the first national ploughing contest, held in an Athy field. From there, the event has grown to become a huge national and international farming festival, attracting more than 1,000 exhibitors and nearly 200,000 visitors each year.

Ratheniska farmer David Carter and his family, along with a number of neighbouring farmers, will provide the required 700 acres of ploughing and parking ground for this year’s championships.

The Limerick Show will be held at the racecourse in Patrickswell on Saturday, August 24, and Sunday, August 25.

Highlights - Horse Showing, Show-jumping - Two-Year-Old Filly Irish Draught Final - Cattle, Sheep & Poultry - Farmers’ Market - Horticulture - Arts & Crafts - Jugglers, Jesters, Unicyclist & Giant Cartoon Characters - Indoor & Outdoor Trade Stands - Farm Machinery - Demonstrations & Exhibitions - Live Music

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The 2013 National Ploughing Championships will take place in Ratheniska, County Laois, on September 24, 25 and 26.

Highlights

- Loy Digging - Fashion Shows - Live Music - Husqvarna Irish Axe Factor - Pole Climbing - FRS and FBD Safe Tractor Driving Demonstrations & Challenges - Hunt Chase & Pony Club Games - ICA Demonstrations & Seminars - Cookery Demonstrations - Threshing - Sheep Dog Trials - All-Ireland Lamb Shearing Competition - Animal Husbandry - Craft Village - Machinery and Motors Display

FARM Forestry

May May 31 & June 1: Ballymoney Agricultural Show

June June 1: Belgooly & District Agricultural Show June 1: Lurgan Show June 1 & 2: North West Clare Show June 2 & 3: Westport Horse & Pony Show June 8: Armagh County Agricultural Show June 8 & 9: Ballivor Horse Show June 9: Ballinalee Connemara Pony Show June 9: Clonakilty Agricultural Show June 9: Roundfort Agricultural Show June 14, 15 & 16: Cork Summer Show June 15: Gorey Agricultural Show June 15: Saintfield Show June 15 & 16: Galway County Agricultural Show June 16: Galway County Agricultural Show June 16: County Louth Agricultural Show June 22: Louisburgh Horse & Pony Show June 23: Barnadown Horse Show June 23: Corrandulla Agricultural Show June 23: West Clare Show June 29: Finn Valley Agricultural Show June 29: Newry Show June 29: Strandhill Show June 29: Wexford County Show June 29 & 30: Charleville Agricultural Show June 30: Athlone Agricultural Show June 30: Claddaghduff Pony Show June 30: Glencar Show

July July 5 & 6: Omagh Agricultural Show July 6: Adamstown Show July 7: Athenry Agricultural Show July 7: Ballymote Horse Show July 7: Clonmel Show July 7: Dunmanway Agricultural Show July 11: Bannow & Rathangan Agricultural Show July 13: Barryroe Show July 13: Castlewellan & District Agricultural Show

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July 14: Adrdrahan Agricultural Show July 14: Ballina Show July 14: Mullingar Show July 14: Newmarket & District Agricultural Show July 14: West Kerry Agricultural Show July 18: Carbery Show July 20: Carnew Agricultural Show July 20: County Clare Show July 20: Granard Agricultural & Industrial Show July 20: Inishowen Show July 20: Sligo County Show July 20 & 21: Ballyconneely Pony Show July 21: Castlegannon Agricultural Show July 21: Drimoleague Show July 21: Erris Agricultural Show July 21: Loughrea Agricultural Show July 21: Newcastlewest Agricultural Show July 21: Oldcastle Agricultural Show July 25: Dungarvan Agricultural Show July 27: County Longford Show & Country Fair July 27: North Clare Show July 27: Crossmolina Agricultural Show July 27: Kilmacanogue Horse Show July 27: Manorhamilton Agricultural Show July 27: Jamestown Show July 28: Arva Show July 28: Kerry Pony Society July 28: Midland Connemara Pony Show July 28: Ossory Agricultural Show July 28: Schull Agricultural Show July 28: South East Clare Show July 31: Clogher Valley Agricultural Show

August August 3: Kildysart Show August 3: North Sligo Agricultural Show August 4: Cashel Pony Show August 4: Claremorris Agricultural Show August 4: Kilgarvan Agricultural Show August 5: Bonniconlon Show August 5: Castleblayney Agricultural Show August 5: Castlerea Agricultural Trade & Craft Show August 5: Meenacross Show August 5: North Tipperary Agricultural Show August 5: Carraroe Pony Show August 5: Tinahely Agricultural Show August 6: Clonmany Agricultural Show

August 6 & 7: Fermanagh County Show August 10: Ardara SWD Agricultural & Indistrial Show August 10: Gort & District Show August 11: Seo Chapaillini Chonamara Maigh Cuilinn August 11: Tullamore & AIB National Livestock Show August 13: Ballinamore Show August 15 & 16: Connemara Pony Show August 17: Cappamore Agricultural Show August 17: Roscommon Industrial & Agricultural Show August 17: Swinford Agricultural Show August 17: Tydavnet Parish Show August 18: Ballyshannon Show August 18: Ballyvourney/Coolea Show August 18: Claregalway Agricultural Show August 18: Mohill Agricultural Show August 18: Mullagh Horse &b Cattle Show August 18: Tullow Agricultural Show August 21: Bansha Show August 21: Virginia Agricultural Show August 24: Enniscrone & District Agricultural Show August 24: Iverk Show August 24: M.E.C. Show of the North Charity Show August 24: Moate Agricultural Show August 24 & 25: Limerick Show August 24 & 25: Oughterard Agricultural Show August 25: Ballingeary Show August 25: Inniscarra Agricultural Show & Vintage Rally August 25: Mullaghmore Harvest Show & Donkey Derby August 31: Connemara Performance Championships August 31: Elphin Agricultural Show August 31: Scarriff Agricultural Show

September September 1: Ballinrobe Agricultural Show September 1: Bantry Agricultural Show September 1: Clonaslee Agricultural Show September 1: Royal Meath Show September 1: Taispeantas Chois Fharraige September 7: Beltra Show September 7 & 8: Strokestown Show September 8: West Cork Horse Breeders Show September 8: Cork Area Annual I.P.S. Show September 14: Mountbellew Agricultural Show September 15: Eyrecourt Agricultural Show September 28: Ballinasloe Agricultural Show

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Hobbies Show Feature

Cork Summer Show 2013 The 172nd Cork Summer Show in Curraheen.

Organised by the Munster Agricultural Society, the 172nd Cork Summer Show will take place in Curraheen in Cork on Saturday June 15th and Sunday June 16th.

Located opposite the Curraheen Greyhound Track, the Cork Summer Show is one of the oldest agriculture shows in Ireland and annually attracts 25,000 visitors.

Over the two days of the Cork Summer Show, there will be showing classes for cattle, horses, sheep, goats, poultry, rare breeds, pony club, interhunt chases, harness racing and an international Farrier Competition.

The cattle, horse and sheep classes have attracted more than 1,000 entries, with a particularly strong representation from the beef industry.

The 2013 Cork Summer Show will have an expanded display area for agricultural equipment suppliers, drawing exhibitors from across the province.

Alongside the traditional agricultural, equine, and bovine events, visitors can enjoy the Pet Dog Show, the Pedigree Dog Show, World of Food and Beer Festival, Horticulture Displays,

Arts and Crafts Exhibitions, Best Dressed Ladies Competition, Vintage Machinery Displays, Ireland’s Strongest Man Competition and live music.

The Cork Summer Show will host over 170 trade stands and a Food Market supplying artisan and local foods.

Eddie Barrett, Chairman of the Munster Agriculture Society, said of the show “For over 200 years, the Munster Agricultural Society has been at the heart of rural life. The Cork Summer Show is a showcase for excellence in agriculture, food and farm produce. It’s a place for members of the farming community to share their expertise, keep abreast of the latest innovations and technology, and meet and compete with their peers.

In keeping with our educational ethos, we are proud to introduce our ‘Agriculture Forum’ where Eddie Downey, Deputy President of the IFA, will host a series of lectures on both the Saturday and the Sunday of the Cork Summer Show. We are confident we have the best programme of events in Ireland, tailored to meet the needs and interests of the farming community.”

With everything from Livestock classes to cookery demonstrations to BMX exhibits, the Cork Summer Show is a great family day out. This year the Cork Summer Show will showcase the Festival4Kidz, a dedicated area for children of all ages with exciting attractions including a Kids Cinema

Tent, Bouncy Castles, Bob the Builder, Minnie and Mickey Mouse, Balloon Entertainers, Magicians, Face Painters and lots more.

The Cork Summer Show is very accessible and offers visitors free parking and a free shuttle bus from Ballincollig Shopping Centre and from Curraheen Greyhound Track to the Cork Summer Show in Curraheen in Bishopstown.

The show will take place on Saturday June 15 from 9.30am-6pm and on Sunday June 16th from 9.30am to 6pm. All Children U12 are free while tickets for students/oaps and adults cost €5 and €10 respectively.

See www.corksummershow.com for full programme of events.

www.corksummershow.com 46

Hobbies Show Feature

Charleville Show Preparations are well underway for the 34th Annual Show, which will be held on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th June 2013. The committee have been working since last October to ensure that everything is well organised for this year’s show and an exciting programme has been put in place which will be of interest to both young and old. Last year the show grounds were upgraded with new roadways to accommodate pedestrians and to make getting around the grounds much easier.

Charleville Show is now the largest two day show in the country with numerous exciting and interesting events to be seen, varying from judging of cattle, horses, sheep, horticulture, dogs, arts & crafts, cookery and numerous children’s competitions. It is a real family day out with something to interest every member of the family.

The new attractions to this year’s show are the All Ireland Semi Final of Macra Na Feirme FBD Farm Skills, Junior Dragons Den, Most Appropriately Dressed Couple, and the Timber Sports.

Last year saw the introduction of chain saw carving and this spectacular exhibition returns this year in the extended Timber Sports section, also this year will see the introduction of Sheaf Tossing which will take place on the Sunday In the Dairy section this year the highlights are expected to be the judging of the All Ireland Junior

there will be classes for Limousin, Belgian blue, Charolais, Simmental, Aberdeen Angus, Hereford, Beef Shorthorn and Parthenaise breeds of cattle with classes for commercial classes also.

The highlight of the beef section is the Young Beef Stockperson Class which is sponsored by Dawn Meats Charleville, which allows young cattle handlers of different ages to learn the skills of animal preparation and presentation and put these skills into practice on the day and for the future.

In the sheep section there will be entries of both pedigree and commercial cross bred sheep.

A variety of horse and pony classes are scheduled for Charleville Show this year with pony showing taking place on Saturday and horses on Sunday. Both in-hand and ridden classes in all sizes and grades of horse and rider will be catered for.

Alongside all these main attractions there will also be the Vintage Section, Adult Baking & Preserves, a Secondary School Baking Competition, Adult Arts, Crafts & Needlework, Old Time Crafts, a baby show, a Dog Show, pets corner, and a horticulture section. It’s definitely a day with something for everyone.

The breeds showing in the pedigree classes consisting of ram and ewe classes of varying ages are Suffolk, Texel, Vendeen, Jacob, Charollais and Hampshire Down.

Cow confined to second calvers with a prize fund of over €2,000. The total prize money in the dairy section is in the region of €8,000 and the show are expecting a very high standard to be in attendance. Classes this year vary from Holstein Friesians, Jersey and Pure British Friesian. For the beef,

47

Hobbies Humour

A man’s car stalled on a country road one morning. When the man got out to fix it, a cow came along and stopped beside him. “Your trouble is probably in the carburetor,” said the cow.

Startled, the man jumped back and ran down the road until he met a farmer. The amazed man told the farmer his story. “Was it a large red cow with a brown spot over the right eye?” asked the farmer.

“Yes, yes,” the man replied.

“Oh! I wouldn’t listen to Betsy,” said the farmer. “She doesn’t know a thing about cars.”

bells on cows?

Why do they put rns don’t work!

Because their ho

Why do ba by chicks s ay: “cheap, ch eap, cheap ?”

Because th ey can’t sa “expensive y: , expensiv e, expensiv e!”

Why did the egg go to the doctors?

Because he had a cracking headache

Why did Beethoven kill his chicken ?

It kept saying ''Bach, Bach, Bach...' '

Did you hear about the wooden tractor?

It’s had wooden wheels, wooden engine, wooden transmission and wooden work.

One day, a farmer was tending to his livestock when he noticed that one of his cows was completely cross-eyed.

He called up his vet who told him to bring in his cow. The vet took one look at the cow, stuck a tube up the cow’s butt, and blew into the tube until the cow’s eyes straightened out. The vet charged the farmer a hundred bucks, and the farmer went home happy.

About a week later, the cow’s eyes were cross-eyed again, but this time the farmer figured he could probably take care of it himself. So he called his hired hand over, and together they put a tube up the cow’s butt. The farmer put his lips to the tube and started to blow. Strangely, nothing happened, so he asked his hired hand to give it a try. The hired hand removed the tube, turned it the other way around, put it in the cow’s butt and started to blow.

“What are you doing?” asked the farmer, horrified.

“Well, I wasn’t gonna use the side that YOU had put your lips on.”

What do you call a three legged donkey?

A wonkey between ference if d e th Irish What is g and an in d d e w an Irish funeral? n.

nk perso

dru One less

Q: What did the horse say when he fell?

A: I’ve fallen and I can’t giddy up!

49

Hobbies Vintage

Tractorworld 2013 Tractor World Ireland 2013 was held at Corrin Mart, Fermoy, Co. Cork on Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th May. It was held by Ford & Fordson association Cork Branch in conjunction with Fota Island.

It will be all diesel and smoke again this year, as the printed pictures by Eddie Drea would suggest. Pictured are Martin Kelly and Thomas Roberts competing in the tractor pulling competition. Watch out for a future feature in Grassroots Magazine at a later issue.

The show was open to all makes of tractors and also saw Ferguson building and model displays among other attractions over the weekend event.

50

Hobbies Model Farm

D Marshall Farm Conversion If there is a tractor that isn’t on the market from Britains, Universal Hobbies, siku or Ros, where can you go?

Well Dominic Marshall from Co.Derry, living in the country side in a little place named Drummullan, is one possible person worth contacting.

Working as a butcher in Moneymore during the day, it is in the evenings that he turns his hands to building 1:32 scale farm models. He has done a large range of tractor conversions to the customers’ specification.

Dominic got into farm model conversions as a hobby three years ago.

“It started off as a bit of fun but then I saw the opportunity to take this further and make a small side line business from work which brings an extra few pound into my pocket.” he told Grassroots Magazine.

As interest increased in the final product, the side line began to take up space. “I then progressed to build a workshop in my shed which is starting to get to small as the business grows. My father now thinks that I should extend.” Dominic reveals.

Dominic told us what the best sellers for D Marshall Farm Models are “The 8340/7840 Fords and New Hollands as well as the TM range too.

The John Deere 7530’s would be a big seller in the 1:32 scale as well.

The favourite tractor I build probably would be the Marshall 804 as I do intend in purchasing one of these in full scale some day.”

He remains secretive about some future projects “I’m working on a few new products to be realised at the next Moira show in October. I’ll not be showing the first pieces of these until September time.”

We wait with patience. If you want further information on D Marshall Farm Conversions, check out www.dmarshallfarmmodels.weebly.com or contact Dominic on email dominic_marshall@hotmail.com.

www.dmarshallfarmmodels.weebly.com or contact Dominic on email dominic_marshall@hotmail.com.

51

Food Farmers Market

by Paul O’Sullivan

At the

“Kerry Farmers Markets is one of several non-profit organisations working closely with local authorities and other stakeholders as a facilitator for traders.”

Since the concept emerged in the late nineties Irish farmers markets have developed, evolved and adapted to survive contrasting periods of economic fortunes. Increasingly, necessity is the mother of invention as economic circumstances are forcing people to take a punt in a consolidating industry.

Mary Glynn, a stallholder at Blennerville and Tralee markets, was previously a bookkeeper who began taking FAS courses during times of unemployment, which led to her starting her baking stall at Blennerville and Tralee markets. ‘If I got back to full time employment I’d probably try to do the two.

What I bake I used to make so it could be done just before the weekend. And the market is a way of life. Relationships develop and people support each other.’

‘Some people have a dream project,’ says Michael Gleeson, coordinator of Kerry Farmers Markets. ‘Now they find themselves in circumstances where they can give it a go. Markets enable small scale investment for modest profits, but it’s an alternative to securing capital to build factories and warehouses. And some businesses that end up there have begun at the market place.’

Kerry Farmers Markets is one of several non-profit organisations working closely with local authorities and other stakeholders as a facilitator for traders.

Initiatives such as social media training courses and town centre surveys

52

proactively support traders operating in their markets. Mr. Gleeson, who began his involvement in the industry with the Kilrush market in 2003, sees the relationship between markets and key players such as enterprise boards consistently improving.

‘There was a legacy from the 80’s and 90’s of forty-foot container lorries and cheap wholesale produce. The legislation was designed to contain or eliminate what was seen by local authorities as a nuisance. Now local authorities are recognising the benefits of organised markets in terms of footfall and spin-off for permanent traders in towns. ’ Since the Bord Bia has engaged in a support and promoting role for markets. As well as maintaining a definitive list of markets nationally (the list currently numbers 161) a code of good practice scheme, which is currently undergoing review, is awarded to markets which apply and surpass the standards set.

‘The code of good practice served an important purpose, but markets are dynamic and our values need to reflect changes that have occurred,’ says Mary Morrissey, Head of Bord Bia’s Entrepreneurship & Food Works Ireland. ‘Markets are so important culturally. They provide an opportunity for face-to-face interaction with producers and producers to generate cash flow and, in some cases, to create a base for expanding businesses.’One such business is Glenilen Farm, run by

Andy and Valerie Kingston, which began trading in West Cork country and farmers markets supplying their line of dairy products to all major Irish food retailers.

‘We certainly aren’t too big for farmers markets and still participate in one,’ Alan says. ‘Markets are important to us for direct feedback from customers. And markets have become part of Irish culture. When we started most of the markets were run by, how shall we say, people of English or European influence. Now it is part of the fabric of Irish towns, and that’s also important.’

The decision to supply to food retailers, Valerie says, was not one taken lightly.

‘It was never the intention to use markets just as a platform for other things - that’s the way it happened,’ Valerie says. ‘I remember at the time we had long discussions over control of the products. Essentially, you’re sharing your baby. I applaud the people who continue through markets alone. It shows the primary interest is in their produce.’

At a little before ten in the People’s Park Dun Laoghaire – a market that since last year has individual power points for stallholders - a gust blows pooled water off the awning covering Colm Hasset’s Kingfisher Tea stall, nearly wetting his first customer. ‘When I lived in Seattle I found it hard to get good tea. I began sourcing different teas online and my interest grew from there,’ Colm says. Kingfisher now sells over a hundred different blends of teas, while

FARM Forestry

marketplace retaining markets as approximately eighty-percent of their sales revenue.

Like other traders, of which there are about fifty, he has travelled fifty-plus miles to be at the market. Fiona Falconer, her husband Malc and their four children relocated from London where she co-owned a media production company to Wexford. With Malc’s horticultural background they began planting and cultivating wild plants native to Ireland on four and a half acres, producing a range of chutneys, preserves, pesto and dressings under the label Wild About. The market, Fiona says, is a springboard for a business model of artisan retailing.

availed of. Many markets in Ireland still rely on generators for power, which can by noisy and detract from the atmosphere. These details are crucial for the success or failure of a market.’

Despite this, and the failure of some markets through the last decade, it seems Irish markets continue to grow in stature. The diversity of reasons for self-starting on a relatively small scale may be one reason. Consumer confidence built on a colourful shopping experience may be another. What is clear is that even the deepest recession has not irrevocably damaged a budding initiative that once had a pricey reputation and not exactly local…all of which bodes well for the future.

‘We are involved in permaculture. I don’t like the term organic. You can be certified organic and, because of legal loopholes, still get your tomatoes from Spain. We use a mixture of seaweed, horse manure, nettles and comfrey.

And that’s it. No chemicals, no sprays.’

Andy O’ Reilly, part-owner of event management company ALA which runs the Dun Laoghaire market and several others in Dublin, prefers the term artisan food and crafts market because of its variety of non-food produce – among others there are stalls for books, pottery and garden plants.

‘Although things are good, with such a lucrative business I think the Government are still a little off the mark. We have met with representatives from a Bristol market that has innovations such as rainwater collection and storage. There are EU grants that can be

53

Setting up Denis Healy’s fruit and vegeta ble stall at Dun Laoghaire Farmers Market at the People’s Park

Declan Hasset at his Kingfisher Tea stall, Dun Laoghiare Farmers Market at the People’s Park

53

...what

54

Food Home Cooking

J. Cronin

J. Cronin

you got cookin?

55

FARM Forestry

by Jacky W.B

56

Gardeners

Food Grow Your Own

Year

A Novices Guide To Fruit And Veg

“All gardeners are struggling with conditions, even the most experienced ones. Gardening, like life, has a habit of making fools of all of us from time to time.”

This has been the coldest spring that anyone can remember. Most of the winter was a deluge of rain, only to be followed by hard frost which leaves our soil in a very sorry state for spring planting and sowing. All gardeners are struggling with conditions, even the most experienced ones. Gardening, like life, has a habit of making fools of all of us from time to time.

However there are things we can do now. Firstly cover your beds in the open garden. Use either clear plastic sheeting held down with stones around the edge or invest in a couple of sheets of corrugated Perspex. This will last from year to year if you mind it and will do a lovely job of drying and warming your soil.

Everyone has a few off cuts of timber around the place. Put these around the edges of the bed, pop the Perspex on top, weigh down with a couple of stones to stop it blowing away and there you have instant soil heating with every bit of sun we get!

In two to three weeks you will be ready to go. The other advantage of this system is it will bring on weed seeds and roots left behind in the initial digging giving you a head start on the weeding before your precious seeds go in.

Meanwhile you can start salads and baby carrots if you have a green house or conservatory using the long ‘window box’ troughs. (Make sure you have drilled out the drainage holes in the bottom, this is absolutely vital!) Fill

with any good potting compost plus a handful of organic seaweed manure (All available from any garden shop) and sow two (no more) rows of thinly spaced seed in each.

The cardinal rule of seed sowing is that less is always better. Too much and everything will rot due to overcrowding. Plus if the first lot fail you will have back up to try again. If you really want to be a gardener you will always be trying again- giving up is not an option!

off now in pots in the warm to plant out in late May/early June.

Next month I will be discussing herbs and their uses, both culinary and medicinal.

The best varieties for container growing are the ‘salad bowl’ loose lettuces and the ’Nantes’ or round type carrots which never grow too big and are often labelled suitable for containers.

Next, always pop containers up on a couple of bricks.

Drainage is key. The first rule of watering is ‘quick in and quick out’. Water well on sowing and not again until your crop is well up and feels dry.

Now, onto planning what to plant outside this summer. On a small plot you need to think about getting the best value for money.

Growing things that take a lot of room or tie up the ground for ages, such as potatoes or cabbage is not really practical for a novice gardener. It’s better to concentrate on salads of all kinds such as spring onions, small snowball type turnips, all of which yield a lot for relatively little space. Dwarf French beans are also great value. Start them

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FARM Forestry

by Victoria Deane

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On the

Food Smallholdings

pig’s back These days it seems to be quiet fashionable to run some form of a smallholding. Not only is it fashionable but also practical.

Some even say it’s good for the soul!

A smallholding can be anything from a back garden to a small acre farm. It can be just a little vegetable patch for doing some Grow Your Own or you can get adventuress and try rearing some of your own poultry or even some larger livestock such as pigs or sheep. But of course there can be a bit of red tape to get your head around when running a small holding, between government departments, grants and other rules and regulations. If you do intend on keeping livestock you will be in contact with people like Teagasc and the Department of Agriculture to obtain herd/ flock numbers, tags, and sometimes for advice.

For this month we will discuss rearing pigs. The one benefit of pigs as opposed to cattle, sheep or goats is that you do not need to have a certain amount of land (For these animas you need at least 1.5 acres) as pigs can be kept indoors.

Like other livestock however, pigs must be registered and tagged. For slaughtering you will also have to find

a specially registered abattoir as this is essential as part of disease control restrictions.

Well that’s enough of the red tape.

Now onto why pigs are a great animal to keep on your Smallholding. Firstly they make wonderful bins for your left over scraps, this is recycling at its best!

It is also important to give them some high protein pig feed.

They are highly intelligent and social animals who do better in groups or a pair with the company of their own species. It is good to provide your pigs with warm and dry housing with ample straw bedding to burrow under for their warmth. If you are keeping your pig outdoors they need cool damp or watery wallows and shade in hot weather to keep cool. They’ll need to be able to freely roam in fenced pasture or scrub land. There are a few different breeds to choose from depending on what you’re looking for. A few examples would be Saddlebacks, Tamworth’s or Gloucestershire Old Spot. Gloucestershire Old Spots are a popular choice because of temperament, appearance,

and taste. The one disadvantage of Gloucestershire Old Spot is that they can take up to a month or two longer than other breeds to reach the desired slaughter weight. Tamworths are also popular for these same reasons .They were originally bred to be bacon pigs so therefore grow faster than other heritage breeds. Saddlebacks are also quite attractive looking pigs with their black bodies and white belts. Saddlebacks are regarded as an excellent eating pig. Of course there is always the option of the modern “pink pig” for example the Landrace. These breeds are largely kept for commercial pork production on intensive farms. However if you want something that grows quickly, has large litters and is ready for meat production at a much earlier stage than the traditional breeds they are the ones for you.

When your pig has achieved the right weight, usually around 6 or 7 months old, depending on the breed and the individual pig itself, it’s time to take them for slaughter. Whichever breed you choose it will be a rewarding experience to produce your own pig.

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Rural Interest By Gone Days

by Victoria Deane

Martin

All over our beautiful Island there are a generation of people with stories and memories that need to be heard. Stories of times past, humours yarns that have subtle life lessons.

They watch with a wise eye as their world disappears.

Perhaps we need to pause, and talk to this generation.

When you think of all the life experience they have, surely we should listen to their stories and perhaps try to learn from them.

One man who has many a story to tell is Martin Conneely of Annaghdown.

Annaghdown is a parish in Co. Galway that lies around Annaghdown Bay, an inlet of Lough Corrib.

Martin was born on the 7th of October 1931 in the thatched house that he lives in to this day. It was here he grew up with his 3 sisters and four brothers, Martin being the oldest. They grew up on a farm of 40 acres.

He explains to me how this was a fragmented farm or as it was more commonly known, a land commission farm. The Land Commission was a board responsible for re-distributing farmland from large estates in Ireland.

“The whole village got a share from it” Martin says.

The land came from what used to be Blakes of Annaghadown’s estate. “The Estate used to consist of a couple of thousand acres of good and bad land”. This land was redistributed amongst the local people for a period from 1953-1956.

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Like many of his generation Martin fondly remembers working with horses on their farm “we’d have ploughed and harrowed and all that. We had no tractor, all we had were the horse implements”.

“We used to have a team of horses ourselves, two Irish Draught mares.

They were great workers, we used them for mowing the hay, cutting the corn and of course gathering it in”. To this day Martin still has a place in his heart for horses and ponies alike.

This is no doubt a love he inherited from his own father who used to breed Connemara Ponies and Irish Draught horses. Martin recalls how they had two carts “we had a full size horse cart and a three-quarter size horse cart, the draughts used to pull the full size one and the Connemara’s used to pull the three quarter size one.” He explains further the uses of these “the Draughts had more power so they were used for the heavier work with the full sized cart such as bringing in the turnips to the haggard. Whereas the Connema-

Rural Interest By Gone Days

Recalls ra’s were lighter and could be used in the bog for the turf with the smaller cart”.

Martin’s father used to also hire out his carts for carrying pigs into the market in Galway.

“There was a Bonham market on a Saturday morning and you’d have to be in there at 5am if the ship was sailing to the aran islands, the aran island fella would be in to buy a Bonham and you might have 10 or 12 to go down to the docks and off then on the boat”.

Martin recalls how they used to always have a quiet horse that would carry the Bonham’s because not all horses would take kindly to carrying livestock.

When Martin was just 16 he got a job working for Galway County Council.

He also experienced city life when he moved into Galway for 5 years. At first he worked for a building contractor and then finally he worked driving a lorry.

He spent most of his time around Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, employed by a civil engineering company called Shellabear Price, operating machines on the major projects of building motorways.

He remembers how after the war there were not very many Lorries on the roads. However the company he worked for, McDonagh’s Merchants, had 14 lorries and Martin drove a flour mill lorry for them.

Martin recalls that most of the men who worked with him were West of Ireland people. “Yera you’d never settle, it wasn’t home but you had the work.” He also spent 6 months in Belgium working on the construction of the autobahns or as we know them, the motorways. On Martins return to Ireland in 1970 he got a job working on the construction of Whiddy Oil Terminal in bantry. “The company I was working with in England got us the job of earth moving in Whiddy Island, they

The next chapter of Martins life is one that is again becoming a familiar tale in the lives of many young people today. Martin immigrated to England at the age of 22.

Here he spent 21 years of his life working.

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FARM Forestry

FARM Forestry

Martin’s Yarn

got the job off the yank”.

“There was one night I was on my way to Cork city picking up messages for the firm (Whiddy Oil Terminal). We were on our way out of bantry passed the graveyard and I had another fella with me, a Mayo fella. Well we met this fella, he was roaring drunk coming from the fair.

He was in a bad way you see because he hadn’t sold his heifer. She was a purebred Shorthorn. We see the boyo and he was all tangled in the rope and down standing in the water table, the heifer was grazing along the side of the road. Ah this would have been in the month of May. We stopped anyway and squared him up and shur we got talking to him. He was fairly abusive now.

There was no badness ‘twas just his ‘oul way. Well I decided to buy the heifer off him anyway. We had the firms van you see so we backed it up and opened the two doors and we loaded her, we were in our prime that time you see. Instead of going to Cork then we headed to Kealkill where I was staying at the time.

We let the heifer in with the land lady’s stock. Shur there was no testing that time or tagging or nothing. We went the back road from Kealkill to Cork city then, into the Station to pick up our messages. The next time I went up home to the West I took her with me. I borrowed a little cow trailer and took her up.

Shur she turned out to be a great little cow, we had her for 12 year or so. She didn’t need to be tied up or anything to milk her, you just needed the bucket and the stool.”

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In his time in Bantry, Martin bought his first Irish Draught mare. It was from this mare that Annaghadown Star was decended, a famous Irish Draught Stallion who won at the RDS in Dublin three times. When Martin finally returned to his home in the 1970’s there were many evident changes in the country living that he had left behind.

The horse was losing its relevance on the farm as the tractor brought in a new type of horse power. On Martins farm however, they still had one horse for jobs such as cultivating the drills.

“There was a fella two villages away who used to come with his tractor and do the ploughing for everyone and then the horse would do the tilling.”

Along the way Martins life took many a different path. But yet he always had that draw back to his home in Co. Galway. He worked hard to make his living but while doing so he met many friends and had many experiences that he can now recall with a warm smile. Throughout his adventures it is evident to see that Martin always stayed true to his roots and given the first opportunity bought his first Irish Draught mare. This animal was reminiscent of his own youth on an Irish farm. To this day Martin still keeps horses and has a strong interest in vintage machinery.

FARM Forestry

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Rural Interest Property

Property “Feed shortage and fodder crisis”, “what does 2013 hold for us”? These are the most common topics of discussion among the Irish Farming Community.

There is no doubt but that thedairy; beef and tillage farmer have been hard hit over the last 18 months. “I have been feeding silage every month since October 2011” said one extensive dairy farmer to me recently. “I must sell 40 of my 120 cowherd,” said another.

There is no doubt but that dairy farmers in marginal land areas have been worse affected. The fodder crisis leading to lack of cash flow however short term have dented farmers confidence.

The spirit of the coop movement without doubt has kicked into place over the last 6 months. The level of cooperation and assistance offered by the Dairy Co-ops, Banks and the Department of Agriculture, is exemplary and

welcome. The industry is also lucky that it has a Minister for Agriculture, Minister Simon Coveney, who comes from a farming back round and can empathise with the problem.

His input into the importation of hay and silage, and credit availability from the Co-ops, the Fodder Fund through the banks has helped to ease the situation in the short term.

The agricultural sector like other sectors of our economy is under severe pressure. It needs time and breathing space. The agricultural industry is a major exporter of food and is critical to the recovery of our economy. It is a highly organised industry with a bright future, milk and beef prices are holding up well. The good and progres-

sive dairy farmer have been expanding and adding to their land holdings in anticipation of the ending of milk quotas in 2015. We are proud of the fact that we can produce our products from a green and clean environment.

Unfortunately over the last 2 years we have to add a caveat to that, a wet climate and weather dependant.

Good quality dry land is now fetching 40%/50% over and above marginal land prices. Dairy, Beef and Tillage farmers are prepared to travel and pay more for dry and good quality land. The first question our Agricultural Sales sector is asked when we advertise a farm is “what kind is the land”? Up to this it was “how much are you looking for it”.

Top quality land well located is fetching €12,000/€15,000 per acre with marginal land prices still at €8,000/€10,000 per acre. Good land will give you a 9/10-month out door season; marginal land can be back to 6 months. It is easily poached and very dependent on weather conditions especially at springtime.

Despite the gloom of the last 12-15 months the good and progressive farmer will survive. It is important that he does so as agriculture is one of our largest exporting and traditional industries.

Joe McCarthy FSCSI FRICS Director Irish & European Auctioneers & Chartered Surveyors

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Rural Interest Youth/Macra

New Macra President Calls for Land Use Audit Mobility and Succession in Ireland study are implemented.

“I believe that if we, as an agriculturally based country, are to achieve the ambitious targets set out in the Food Harvest 2020 Report, then we must look at ensuring that Irelands land is utilised to its maximum productive extent.

The time is right for a land use audit and I call on the Minister, Simon Coveney, to ensure that this is carried out. It is crucial that we establish a clear overview of land use and what changes and actions need to be implemented to achieve the thirty per cent growth in production by 2020.

There is scope and a need in all areas of the country to farm more efficiently and productively relative to the fertility of the land.

“The time is right for a land use audit and I call on the Minister, Simon Coveney, to ensure that this is carried out.

one which would be a key priority during his tenure. Mr. O’Dowd, a practising barrister with a financial background, hails from Gurteen in Co. Sligo and is the first National President from the county.

It is crucial that we establish a clear overview of land use and what changes and actions need to be implemented to achieve the thirty per cent growth in production by 2020”, New Macra na Feirme National President, Kieran O’Dowd, called on the Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, to carry out a Land Use Audit and establish the best use of farm land.

He addressed national council representatives from Macra’s 31 regions alongside his three Vice Presidents, James Healy, Munster VP (Donoughmore Macra, Muskerry, Cork), Patrick Delaney, Leinster VP (Portlaoise Macra) and Sean Finan, North West VP (Castlerea Macra, Roscommon).

Speaking at the Macra national AGM on Saturday, the 11th May, in the Charleville Park Hotel, Co. Cork, the newly elected President highlighted the issue of land mobility and succession in Ireland as

Kieran O’Dowd, speaking at the AGM, said, “In the area of agriculture and young farmers, the most important priority for me as President is ensuring that the recommendations in the Macra Land

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“Access to land for young trained farmers via well structured and tax incentivised leasing arrangements are a must. We acknowledge that over the past couple of budgets, incentives and initiatives have been put in place to facilitate new, collaborative leasing and land restructuring arrangements. The inefficient practice of conarce needs to be disincentivised in favour of longer term leasing.

Conacre presents a significant disincentive to young farmers attempting to establish and grow their farm enterprises as the active farmer has no fixity of tenure past eleven months, and thus, it is very difficult to access capital when you cannot be sure from year to year whether or not you will have access to the same piece of land and at what rent.”

Rural Interest Youth/Macra

Potential to Learn There is potential in earning an extra income by hosting students who wish to learn and improve their English language learning skills.

Student Programme Ireland supports English language learning worldwide and aim to provide students and adults with an opportunity to improve their English language learning skills and also provide them with an education in Irish culture by integrating them with an Irish host family while participating in the company’s programmes.

The Charleville based business was the overall winner of the JFC Innovation Awards for Rural Business in 2011.

In the same year it was a winner of the Limerick Chamber’s Limerick Region Business Awards as the Emerging Company of the Year 2011.

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They run educational programmes that are tailor made to suit the needs of the individual student and can be as long or short as is required. Secondary school and primary school programmes can be for the full school year, one term or two terms.

There are also mini-stays which are anything from 2 to 7 days and homestay from 1 week to 6 weeks.

Within these programmes, they can accommodate day visits, activity holidays, agricultural study groups, EFL and school groups. There are currently over 550 active host families and SPI work with over 70 secondary schools and primary schools all over Ireland. All our host families are based in rural areas in several Irish counties, including Cork, Kerry, Clare and along the west coast of Ireland.

Anybody interested in becoming a host family can find more information on www.spil.ie.

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Rural Interest Business

The Dairy Edmond Harty will head to Monte Carlo in early June to compete in the World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. This continues on from his triumph last year when he was named 2012 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Grassroots Magazine went to Causeway in Co. Kerry to see exactly why Edmond, and Dairymaster in general, is attracting worldwide attention.

Set up in 1968, Dairymaster now provides a range of products including milking equipment, automatic scrapers and feeders, milk cooling tanks and heat detection systems. Over 75% of production is now exported and manufactured at their impressive facility in north Kerry.

As Ireland’s manufacturing industry continues in a downward trend it is incredible to see that next to nothing of Dairymaster equipment manufacturing or design is outsourced. This means that almost 300 employees now work on site in the facility which was built on what was part of the original home farm many years ago.

the market for better milking equipment. He originally imported machines but soon realised that he could make them better himself. By using all the information available and undertaking his own research and development, Ned grew the business by producing equipment that solved problems that the farmers at the time were experiencing. Edmond looks back at this time “That was the only way as a company that one could get ahead”.

It is this eye for detail that the in house research and development team continue to use to find solutions and better equipment for the dairy farmers of today. Edmond looks back to one of his early involvements in this area and his interest in the automation of the equipment. “In 1993 we started identifying cows using eartags, the significance of that today is that since the 1st of January this year, you can buy an electronic eartag for a Euro extra per tag. Dairymaster customers are 100% ready to use those tags. That gives a retrospective sense of how far ahead one was in that area.”

While others may look at the financial benefits of outsourcing or subcontracting manufacturing to cheaper labour economies, Edmond sees it as the opposite. Edmond told us “By having all operations on one site it means we are completely adaptable to the market. If there is a problem and no solution is out there, well then we can just design it and make it. We don’t need to be relying on anyone else. This makes the process faster and we have full control of quality.”

Edmond joined the company full time in 1998 and completed his PhD in the end of 2001. He initially focused on milking performance and ways by which it can be measured, evaluated and improved. Edmond explains “We needed to show our competitive advantages over our competitors”. This has stood to Edmond as they have expanded their exports. “Look at Germany where we have 25% of the market. That is a very technical market and our biggest competitor there is a German company.”

This is the exact same ethos that started the company in the late 60’s.

Edmond’s father, Ned, saw a need in

“We are always working on new things” continues Edmond “If you are working at things that are totally

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predictable, then you are not being innovative enough”. It is easy to see where he gets his job satisfaction; it is in finding solutions that help his customers with dairy problems and providing better lifestyle opportunities.

This is evident when Edmond starts talking about one of Dairymasters recent developments with a rotary goat milking machine.

“Its class, I think so any way. What it is, is the platform opens and presents the two teat cups. Once the operator lifts the cups it will start the vacuum automatically. When finished milking, it will come off automatically, it will teat spray automatically, turn them upside down and do a ClusterCleanse on them. It is a class job.” It is statements like this that show the pride he has in his work while still remaining a humble and grounded man despite all his success.

“It is very interesting when you are working on the detail but it is when farmers tell you that it has made such a difference in their lives, that is when you get the right buzz. Our customers’ lifestyle, that is a big factor in everything we do.”

So what can we expect for Dairymaster in the future? “Our vision for the future milking equipment is to milk a lot of cows relevantly quickly and automation will play a part there.”

Speaking about the Dairymaster manufacturing operation, Edmond revealed a target of growth at 20% year on year. While admitting this was ambitious he continued “we would be happy to do this in four out of any five years”. Not happy to rest on his laurels Edmond knows who is key in helping this growth “If you have sat-

FARM Forestry

Masters isfied customers, it is word of mouth that is most important”.

Looking back at the 2012 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards Edmond admits “I had no idea I was going to win it, there was twenty four incredible companies in it. Winning it has added a great buzz within Dairymaster and the industry. It has sent out a message that the agricultural sector is important. It signifies that manufacturing in Ireland is also important and that it is not just about buying in stuff with the press of a button. It signifies that Irish jobs are important. It is about what we are doing and what our plans are for the future.”

Looking ahead to the World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, Edmond stated “There are fifty nine countries entered, some of them are huge companies on a worldwide scale. We are the only company in the agricultural space, there are some in the food area alright. We are not going expecting to win but it will be good to build up connections and help us in international markets. Rumours are we have a good shot at it though!”

Dr Edmond Harty

“I have been with potential clients who don’t know where Ireland is, didn’t know anything about our organisation so when we can say that we have competed at this level in this type of high profile worldwide awards it gives us huge creditability.”

We left Causeway with Edmond finalising multiple international trips while looking out over the flat grassy plains that sweep down to the sandy Ballyheigue beach. Ireland can take pride in Dairymaster and its continued growth.

Electronics manufacturing L-R Dr Edmo nd Harty, Stephen Long, AnnMarie O’ Neill and Billy Burke

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Rural Interest Motoring

The New

Nissan recall affects 14,000 Irish cars Nissan has announced a worldwide recall of 841,000 cars due to, what is described as, a steering wheel glitch.

The popular Micra city car is amongst those affected by the recall.

In Ireland approximately 14,000 Micra models are subject to the recall and owners of all potentially affected vehicles will be contacted in June and invited in to their local dealer to have their vehicle inspected and the fixing bolt of the steering wheel tightened if required at no cost to the customer.

The recall centres on an improperly tightened steering wheel bolt that was identified routine quality testing by Nissan Quality Assurance. Nissan points out that “There have been no accidents or injuries associated with this issue.”

Cars affected were produced in Nissan’s Sunderland facility between 2002 and 2006 and also its plants in Japan, with the Japanese domestic market Cube also falling foul of the issue.

Over time the insufficiently tightened

fixing nut may come loose over time resulting in excessive play in the steering wheel. In an extreme case, if the vehicle continues to be driven in this condition over a long period of time, then it may eventually lead to steering wheel free rotation.

Mazda Ireland supports Bloom Mazda Ireland has been announced as the official car supplier at this year’s Bloom festival, taking place in the Phoenix Park, Dublin this June bank holiday weekend and is also the proud sponsor of the Floral Marquee, as well as providing a number of cars for use at Bloom.

Bloom 2013 is taking place in the Phoenix Park Dublin over the June bank holiday weekend, from Thursday 30th May until Monday 3rd June 2013. This year marks the 7th year of the event which continues to attract thousands upon thousands of people every year.

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Rural Interest Motoring

MITSUBISHI ASX CROSSOVER

A serious competitor to the likes of the Nissan Qashqai, Hyundai iX35 and the KIA Sportage in the Crossover segment) Since its launch in September 2010, the Mitsubishi ASX has firmly established itself as a serious competitor to the likes of the Nissan Qashqai, Hyundai iX35 and the KIA Sportage in the Crossover segment, with over 250,000 sold worldwide to date.

Building on this solid foundation, the new ASX arrives in the Irish market sporting a heavily revised front and rear, increased levels of standard equipment, improved economy and a revised suspension.

It comes with a choice of two economical engines, a 1.6L petrol and a 1.8L diesel (both Band B2), top of class safety features and buckets of room.

The ASX comes with a market topping 8 year warranty as standard.

The arrival of the new ASX follows the recent launch of the all-new Outlander and Space Star, and is part of a comprehensive product plan from Mitsubishi Motors which will see four new passenger car models launched over 15 months.

The new ASX Crossover comes with a choice of two highly equipped models, the 1.6L Petrol Instyle and the 1.8L Diesel Instyle.

The 1.6L petrol is priced at €23,950 and the 1.8L diesel at €26,950, both in Band B2 with €280 annual road tax.

Both the 1.6L Petrol and 1.8L Diesel models come with one highly equipped trim level with over forty safety, styling and comfort features as standard.

This includes Cruise Control, Bluetooth with Voice Control, Remote Audio Controls, Automatic Air Conditioning, Privacy Glass, Fog Lights, Electric / Heated Door Mirrors, Hill Start Assist and a Tilt & Telescopic Adjustable Steering Wheel.

The outgoing ASX achieved a 5-star EURO NCAP safety rating through one of the most comprehensive safe-

ty packages of any vehicle in the segment. The new ASX aims to build on this class leading package.

This latest ASX sports a reshaped front face with a softer outline which reflects the gradual transformation of Mitsubishi’s design language. Likewise, the rear bumper has been refreshed to complement the redesigned front face.

On the inside, the new ASX sports a new interior fabric design, chrome detailing throughout the cabin and significant levels of additional equipment.

Under the skin, the new ASX houses a revised rear multi-link suspension for improved handling and ride comfort.

Every aspect of the ASX has been engineered with its environmental performance in mind, to help create not just an enjoyable, versatile family vehicle, but a responsible one too.

Mitsubishi Motors Dealers, in conjunction with Mitsubishi Motors Ireland, are now offering an extended warranty resulting in cover of 8 years or 150,000km (whichever comes first) as standard on all passenger cars, which is fully transferable to a new owner at any point during the cover period.

The ASX offers great value in its segment and will surely see Mitsubishi compete with substance in the ever growing Crossover section.

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Rural Interest Community

Loughmore

...are doing it for themselves and is showing the way to reclaiming the community spirit, locality pride and the charm of rural life.

“Hello Biddy, how are you today?” A greeting at ‘The Cottage’ in Loughmore signals what is missing in so many rural communities these days.

The local friendly greeting as a customer walks in the door, lost forever in some small villages but not in this north Tipperary village.

Loughmore are doing it for themselves with the most innovative of ideas. They are reclaiming the community spirit and putting their village back on the map.The county Tipperary community saw local shops, garages and bars close their doors for business. The last local shop closed seven years ago.

The morning run for the paper and a loaf of bread had divided the community in two different directions, ten kilometres south to Thurles or seven kilometres north to Templemore. The heart of their rural village was gone, as have so many others like it in Ireland.

However, Loughmore have champions in the community, mainly Mary

Fogarty and Maeve O’ Hair. It was these two ambitious ladies who came together with a united vision to serve the community. Mary told Grassroots Magazine during our recent visit “It was fate that brought us together, we both had the idea to do something for the community”. Mary and Maeve’s idea was based on the principles of the Irish man Horace Plunkett and the Plunkett Foundation. Horace Plunkett was the founding president of ICOS (Irish Co-operative Organisation Society) and one of the pioneers of the co-operative movement.

The Plunkett Foundation supports 300 community shops in the UK but didn’t have any in the Republic of Ireland at the time.

Mary and Maeve set out to change this and visited England to see the principle of the Plunkett Foundation in action. Impressed and full of ideas, they returned to rally the support of the community. LEADER provided 75 percent of the funding but they could

not support the retail aspect of the idea. The majority of the members of the parish bought shares and the Community Co-Operative shop and tearooms became a reality.

The location picked itself, a stone cottage which dates back to the late 1700s in the centre of the village.

The last resident of the cottage, Molly Quinn, was famous in the village for entertaining. We spoke to one local who remembers 25 school children inside the cottage drinking tea in the very room which now houses the tearooms.

The al fresco dining at the back looks out on the castle nearby. This beautiful tree surrounded area becomes host to a food and craft market on the first Sunday of each month. Back inside the stove heats the cosy tea rooms from the original open fireplace. The old cottage bedroom now stocks shelves of magnificent local crafts from jewellery to wood turned pens and decorative aprons to cushions made by

FARM Forestry

FARM Forestry

the talented pupils at St. Annes Special School in Roscrea.

The Kitchen stocks the latest of equipment to make the best coffee to serve with all the locally produced cakes. The cakes and breads sold in The Cottage have the maximum food miles of just five miles.The shop sells the daily papers and daily essentials plus post stamps, call credit and allows locals to pay bills at Post Point.

As the first of its kind in the Republic, it is generating a lot of attention. ICOS are monitoring the progress as it could lead to an opportunity for many more similar community co-operative startups in future.

It has also attracted the attention of national television when RTE’s Nationwide made a visit last February.

It really is well deserved attention as Loughmore is showing the way to reclaiming the community spirit, locality pride and the charm of rural life.

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Rural Interest Travel

by Victoria Deane

Summer Time Madness

Summer is here, apparently. You know what they say “it’s not about waiting for the sun to come out; it’s about learning to dance in the rain”.

Summer is here, apparently. With all this complaining about the weather you would think people weren’t used to it. Its Ireland lads, get over it. You know what they say “it’s not about waiting for the sun to come out; it’s about learning to dance in the rain”.

the salty breeze and hear the gulls calling overhead. Hear the distant, excited shrieks of someone who realised the water is a bit colder than they expected.

The smell of sea weed and sun cream is evident. Admittedly the water may turn you a bit purple at first but you’ll This phrase seems to be fairly get acclimatised eventually. relevant to our beautiful Island. We may not have the weather but we defi- Bring a wet suit and body board/ nitely have the location and a country surf board and show everyone how it’s done. Besides, there is so much full of people up for the craic. So grab more to do than swimming. If you’ve your sun cream, raincoats, wellies, got the kids bring some little nets and flip-flops, the kids, the grandparents, check out the rock pools (some plasthe dog, or whoever or whatever it is ters are advisable for the scratches will help you make this summer one and scrapes that can be encountered to remember. on this expedition).

First Stop: The beach.

We’re lucky to live in a country with more than its fair share of gorgeous shores and silken strands. Inhale

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Or you can simply sit in the sand and revisit your own childhood while making a sand castle fortress adorned with sea weed, shells, dead crabs (optional) and anything else that you

think will make it the most impressive sand castle ever to be seen.

No doubt during your day you will hear, on more than one occasion, that wonderful sound that gets children for miles around to shout “Mummy, mummy can I have one?”

The Ice-Cream van. You may as well give in now because he will keep coming back taunting you with his upbeat melody until you break anyway.

There are so many beautiful beaches to go to. You just have to decide what you want from the day. Do you want somewhere safe for the kids? Or do you want somewhere you can get familiar with your surf board. It’s worthwhile putting in a bit of research before heading off and finding out which one is best suited for your day out.INCHYDONEY, Clonakilty, Cork: Th

FARM Forestry

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William Wills 086 4664488 or williamwills@grassrootsmag.ie

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