It is time for Europe, national government and the processing sector to give a definitive answer to this question. On pages 18-19, Patrick Donohoe interviews Cavan pig farmer Frank Brady, who claims to be just weeks away from closure. The piece lays bare the extent of the financial pressure that this highly innovative sector is facing.

A pig price of €1.38/kg with production costs of €1.50/kg is clearly not sustainable. In the short term, the industry has a legitimate claim for support given the fallout from the Russian ban in response to geopolitical tensions. Longer term, we cannot ignore the fundamental challenges facing a sector that has to import the energy and protein to produce a product largely focused on the export market. The location of the industry away from tillage land adds a further layer of complexity with a requirement to export slurries. Is adding value to this slurry by channelling it, along with brown bin waste, into anaerobic digestion an option? The low dry matter content would require Government support to make such a proposal feasible, therefore raising the question: should we be supporting foreign investors through renewable energy supports or farmer community-led projects?

We thank Frank Brady for giving such insight into the financial challenges facing his business.