Positive mood among NI dairy farmers at Winter Fair

The 2018 RUAS Winter Fair held at Balmoral Park on Thursday was my fourth show meeting and greeting farmers on the Irish Farmers Journal stand in the main Eikon Exhibition Centre.

Morale was rock bottom at the event in 2015 after a year of low milk prices and no lift in sight.

By the end of 2016, things had eventually begun to turn a corner and the one-day dairy event had a more optimistic mood. Last year’s event followed a strong milk price year, but weather-wise it was a shocker.

Dairy farmers have enjoyed another year of strong milk prices in 2018, although with some cuts already announced, most are bracing themselves for lower base prices in the coming months.

Higher costs are being factored in too and, with a 20% increase in meal prices alone over the past 12 months, farmers recognise that margins will come under pressure much quicker if a dip does come.

Golden year

Weather during the summer and autumn of 2018 for farmers in northern and western parts has been the best in living memory. It will be remembered as a golden year for grazing, silage, drainage and reseeding.

Parts of Co Down were significantly affected by the drought and fodder stocks on some farms could be tight. However, steps to bridge gaps have been taken and there should be surplus fodder in other parts if some reach the back wall before the spring.

One constant issue throughout the past four Winter Fairs has been bovine TB. Incidence rates across NI have creeped up throughout 2018 again and the pressure it puts on farmers, both financially and mentally, cannot be overstated.

B-word

Views on Brexit are as diverse among NI dairy farmers as they are in the House of Commons. When it was mentioned on Thursday (it often wasn’t), I heard everything from “it should never have happened in the first place” to “we need to walk away without a deal”.

Was the word Brexit even known at my first Winter Fair in December 2015? In hindsight, they seem simpler times.

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