Hats off to Carrigaline Macra na Feirme for organising one of the biggest farmer meetings of the year; likewise to AIB for sponsoring the event. Cars spilled out on to the road as the car park filled in the Rochestown Park Hotel.
According to Niall Nicholson, there were 600 farmers there. The tea and coffee, cheese and nibbles were just the tonic for those of us who had rushed out without eating. The topic was Irish Agriculture at a Crossroads. It obviously grabbed the imagination of the many couples in the audience. When you see an audience like that, with a great mix of young and old and a good gender balance, you know that farming is safe and farm families are interested in their businesses. The lineup of speakers was impressive.
Macra managed the evening professionally. The young woman on the IT organisation was excellent. As each speaker moved into position, the photograph and credentials came up on screen. James Browne, chair of Carrigaline Macra took the podium to welcome all. A few key words were delivered by Macra president Sean Finan. Then James handed over stewardship of the proceedings to Eoin Lowry, agribusiness editor of the Irish Farmers Journal.
The speakers
First up was Jeanne Kelly of Ornua, the only female speaker of the evening. I heard one farmer say to another: “She can talk anyway.” And talk she did. The company currently sells to 110 countries. It is Ireland’s biggest exporter of dairy produce, exporting 60% of the total produced in Ireland. It has a turnover of €2.5bn. Jeanne explained that the new focus is on taste, taking the grass-fed message to a new level. “Grass-fed produce tastes fantastic,” she told us.
Protecting and driving this advantage is one of Ornua’s challenges. Others include: insulating the businesses to manage more severe volatility through fixed price schemes; protecting and strengthening the brands; differentiating with value-added ingredients and diversifying into other markets.
Tadhg Buckley from AIB took to the stage and told us that most farmers have a positive outlook. He advised farmers to put time into their business plans to build on efficiency. He urged farmers with cashflow problems to talk to their bank.
Aidan Cotter, former CEO of Bord Bia, said that the food and drinks industry has recorded export growth for the last six years, now standing at €11bn. He outlined the risks and threats, citing Brexit as one that has created a new era of uncertainty. It means that Ireland will have to shift away from the UK market for the extra €8bn growth required under Food Wise 2025.
“The greatest danger is that the Food Wise target is too high,” he warned. Yet his message of growth and sustainability of the food and drinks industry was hugely positive.
Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed reinforced the tone of a positive outlook for the industry. The speakers were largely positive about the future, remaining philosophical about the challenges ahead. The tone was good for young farmers after a tough year. We were almost complacent, some even dozing.
Mood change
Then George Lee of RTÉ took the microphone: “You’ve heard so many positive things – I have to say I don’t believe it.” The shuffling and straightening started and 1,200 ears were pricked. The comfort zone was about to be challenged. He went on to say that the minister was a really good minister. He was creative in the budget. The Department of Agriculture does a top-class job, Bord Bia is world-class and Ornua does a fantastic job and AIB are just trying to do business. They all want to sell us a positive message. They do brilliant analysis. They are just doing their jobs.
But George has been looking at the threats facing farmers and he’s very worried. And he would not be investing towards Food Wise 2025 if he was a farmer. “The responsibility that Government should have is to ensure that your farm businesses survive in this time of huge uncertainty ... We’re not at a crossroads. This is a road with the biggest shaggin’ potholes you’ve ever seen,” he said.
George would go very, very cautiously if he was a farmer. He spoke about Trump, Brexit, protectionism and tariff increases, mentioning institutional and technological changes. He also mentioned changing values. He really believes that farmers will have to do much more on the environment. He said that the expansion programme laid out in Food Wise 2025 is at odds with the need to reduce our carbon footprint.
George did unsettle me and I guess that’s why Carrigaline Macra had him there. He served a purpose and that was to make us question analyses that we are given. This is critical for young farmers. But George is not a farmer and I believe that farmers are already very cautious. It is important for us not to do anything without a plan and to cost everything properly before we embark on any developments and purchases for the farm business.
George is right about uncertainty and the need to be careful. He wants us farmers to survive. Hell, we want to do much more than survive. We want to thrive.
One farmer commented that he wouldn’t get up in the morning if he thought like George Lee. So, being positive in our outlook is one way of managing the change.
George also spoke about successful companies across the globe and the things they have in common from different studies:
Having a strong identity and being extraordinarily clued-in. Having very prudent management and being conservative with their finances.Having quality, not profit, as the No 1 objective.That all sounds like a plan but I’m wondering who analysed these findings for George?
Hats off to Carrigaline Macra na Feirme for organising one of the biggest farmer meetings of the year; likewise to AIB for sponsoring the event. Cars spilled out on to the road as the car park filled in the Rochestown Park Hotel.
According to Niall Nicholson, there were 600 farmers there. The tea and coffee, cheese and nibbles were just the tonic for those of us who had rushed out without eating. The topic was Irish Agriculture at a Crossroads. It obviously grabbed the imagination of the many couples in the audience. When you see an audience like that, with a great mix of young and old and a good gender balance, you know that farming is safe and farm families are interested in their businesses. The lineup of speakers was impressive.
Macra managed the evening professionally. The young woman on the IT organisation was excellent. As each speaker moved into position, the photograph and credentials came up on screen. James Browne, chair of Carrigaline Macra took the podium to welcome all. A few key words were delivered by Macra president Sean Finan. Then James handed over stewardship of the proceedings to Eoin Lowry, agribusiness editor of the Irish Farmers Journal.
The speakers
First up was Jeanne Kelly of Ornua, the only female speaker of the evening. I heard one farmer say to another: “She can talk anyway.” And talk she did. The company currently sells to 110 countries. It is Ireland’s biggest exporter of dairy produce, exporting 60% of the total produced in Ireland. It has a turnover of €2.5bn. Jeanne explained that the new focus is on taste, taking the grass-fed message to a new level. “Grass-fed produce tastes fantastic,” she told us.
Protecting and driving this advantage is one of Ornua’s challenges. Others include: insulating the businesses to manage more severe volatility through fixed price schemes; protecting and strengthening the brands; differentiating with value-added ingredients and diversifying into other markets.
Tadhg Buckley from AIB took to the stage and told us that most farmers have a positive outlook. He advised farmers to put time into their business plans to build on efficiency. He urged farmers with cashflow problems to talk to their bank.
Aidan Cotter, former CEO of Bord Bia, said that the food and drinks industry has recorded export growth for the last six years, now standing at €11bn. He outlined the risks and threats, citing Brexit as one that has created a new era of uncertainty. It means that Ireland will have to shift away from the UK market for the extra €8bn growth required under Food Wise 2025.
“The greatest danger is that the Food Wise target is too high,” he warned. Yet his message of growth and sustainability of the food and drinks industry was hugely positive.
Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed reinforced the tone of a positive outlook for the industry. The speakers were largely positive about the future, remaining philosophical about the challenges ahead. The tone was good for young farmers after a tough year. We were almost complacent, some even dozing.
Mood change
Then George Lee of RTÉ took the microphone: “You’ve heard so many positive things – I have to say I don’t believe it.” The shuffling and straightening started and 1,200 ears were pricked. The comfort zone was about to be challenged. He went on to say that the minister was a really good minister. He was creative in the budget. The Department of Agriculture does a top-class job, Bord Bia is world-class and Ornua does a fantastic job and AIB are just trying to do business. They all want to sell us a positive message. They do brilliant analysis. They are just doing their jobs.
But George has been looking at the threats facing farmers and he’s very worried. And he would not be investing towards Food Wise 2025 if he was a farmer. “The responsibility that Government should have is to ensure that your farm businesses survive in this time of huge uncertainty ... We’re not at a crossroads. This is a road with the biggest shaggin’ potholes you’ve ever seen,” he said.
George would go very, very cautiously if he was a farmer. He spoke about Trump, Brexit, protectionism and tariff increases, mentioning institutional and technological changes. He also mentioned changing values. He really believes that farmers will have to do much more on the environment. He said that the expansion programme laid out in Food Wise 2025 is at odds with the need to reduce our carbon footprint.
George did unsettle me and I guess that’s why Carrigaline Macra had him there. He served a purpose and that was to make us question analyses that we are given. This is critical for young farmers. But George is not a farmer and I believe that farmers are already very cautious. It is important for us not to do anything without a plan and to cost everything properly before we embark on any developments and purchases for the farm business.
George is right about uncertainty and the need to be careful. He wants us farmers to survive. Hell, we want to do much more than survive. We want to thrive.
One farmer commented that he wouldn’t get up in the morning if he thought like George Lee. So, being positive in our outlook is one way of managing the change.
George also spoke about successful companies across the globe and the things they have in common from different studies:
Having a strong identity and being extraordinarily clued-in. Having very prudent management and being conservative with their finances.Having quality, not profit, as the No 1 objective.That all sounds like a plan but I’m wondering who analysed these findings for George?
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