Two very interesting, and contrasting, documents came to my attention this week.
One, a 28-page communication from the European Commission (EC) ‘Shaping together an attractive farming and agri-food sector for future generations’. The other, a US article describing an upsurge in ‘real estate’ platforms which will enable a wider pool of investors, large and small, to invest in purchasing farmland.
There is an obvious connection between these reports: should we fail to make farming a more attractive and sustainable proposition for future generations, then the likelihood grows of farmland becoming an investment for passive external actors.
This has enormous implications for food security, family farms and farmland habitats, threatening the very essence of rural Ireland.
Well-qualified
Pat and Catherine Maher farm 25ha on the edge of the Golden Vale at Freighduff, near Cashel, a location which has been the centre of much recent controversy around the purchase of farmland by private investors.
This makes Pat, a sixth generation farmer, well-qualified to comment on some of the potential consequences of such emerging scenarios.
Pat was, until recently, milking 40 cows ‘in-derogation’.
Last year he decided, for reasons including age, derogation-anxiety and rising costs, to move into organic beef, drawing over 50 years of milking (since age 10!) to a close. Instead, over the next few years, Pat plans to build a 20-cow suckler herd using some of his pedigree British Friesian cows, crossing them with an Angus bull.
Pat describes this transition as a ‘sustainable lifestyle choice’ - in contrast to recent years where he was ‘chasing his tail’. While his stock numbers are down by 40%, his feed and fertiliser costs have collapsed – by close to €30k – making his farm more resilient to the external shocks which dogged his previous system.
Though it’s early days, and while it’s been a steep learning curve, Pat feels “energised” by the process and the like-minded people he’s met, concluding that “it’s renewed my sense of purpose and helped me fall back in love with farming.”
Added value
While both of the Maher’s children have off-farm careers, Pat is clear that if the next generation is to actively farm, massive changes will be needed.
“Farmers are custodians of the land, soil and the environment, and Government needs to take a holistic approach and support that custodianship”. This will require better incomes and lifestyles and more public understanding, respect and support.
What’s apparent on visiting the Maher’s farm is the ‘added value’ brought by Pat’s management of these 25ha. Not only the obvious socio-economic benefit through high-quality food production on this family farm but also the environmental dividend from his nature-friendly approach.
The farm’s spectacular hedgerows are a badge of honour for Pat in a landscape where every inch of land is coveted. He won the Michael Hickey Memorial Award for hedgerows in 2024 and actively lays his hedges, and enhances field margins, under ACRES.
His grasslands are full of pollinators (he hasn’t used sprays in years), and resemble a sea of dandelion (the Irish chicory) - yellow in early summer.
Pat with Luke Hickey and Anthony Grogan at a recent hedge-laying event. \ Pat Maher
But it’s the social dividend from such multi-generational family-owned farms that is probably their least appreciated and most vulnerable attribute.
The farm has reared Pat’s family and he remains actively involved in the local Lions club and Historical Society, while also hosting events on the farm – including a hedge-laying demonstration with 150 attendees.
That’s a lot of added social, economic and environmental value generated on one small family farm. Particularly when compared with the extremes of ‘factory farming’ or of farmland when viewed simply as a ‘real estate’ opportunity for remote, exclusively profit-focussed, investors.
Pat Maher at his farm near Cashel Co Tipperary.
Pat worries that land is becoming affordable only for those with ‘deep pockets’, forming part of their wider ‘investment portfolio’, leading to a dysfunctional land market, like the current housing market. He believes that the resultant disconnect poses a huge threat to the environment – simplifying landscapes and destroying habitats.
It’s only Pat’s love of farming that prevented him from renting or selling his land: without his ongoing custodianship, would his magnificent hedgerows survive?
Investing in farmers
All things considered, most would agree that the model which delivers the greatest public good is the one whereby farm families earn a decent living from farming, producing nutritious food from a healthy environment and contributing to vibrant rural communities. To make this happen we need vision – but, more than that, we need action.
The EC 2040 vision, which proposes ‘fair and equitable food chains, better targeted public support, leveraging the opportunities of innovation, building an ambitious investment agenda and fostering entrepreneurship’ is an engaging read.
Consideration of the worrying consequences of not acting on it urgently should give added impetus to its implementation.
In this regard, the Maher’s farming journey offers plenty of food for thought.
Learn More
A Vision for Agriculture and Food: Shaping together an attractive farming and agri-food sector for future generations is available by visiting their we bpage hereTop Tips
If using contractors to manage your hedgerows, make sure they are fully aware what you want - and don’t let them out of your sight!
Farm facts
Name: Pat and Catherine Maher.Farm type: Suckler beef. Farm size: 25ha.Focus: To promote that good farming practice and protection of the environment are not mutually exclusive, in fact they enhance each other.Schemes: Organic Farming Scheme, ACRES General.
Two very interesting, and contrasting, documents came to my attention this week.
One, a 28-page communication from the European Commission (EC) ‘Shaping together an attractive farming and agri-food sector for future generations’. The other, a US article describing an upsurge in ‘real estate’ platforms which will enable a wider pool of investors, large and small, to invest in purchasing farmland.
There is an obvious connection between these reports: should we fail to make farming a more attractive and sustainable proposition for future generations, then the likelihood grows of farmland becoming an investment for passive external actors.
This has enormous implications for food security, family farms and farmland habitats, threatening the very essence of rural Ireland.
Well-qualified
Pat and Catherine Maher farm 25ha on the edge of the Golden Vale at Freighduff, near Cashel, a location which has been the centre of much recent controversy around the purchase of farmland by private investors.
This makes Pat, a sixth generation farmer, well-qualified to comment on some of the potential consequences of such emerging scenarios.
Pat was, until recently, milking 40 cows ‘in-derogation’.
Last year he decided, for reasons including age, derogation-anxiety and rising costs, to move into organic beef, drawing over 50 years of milking (since age 10!) to a close. Instead, over the next few years, Pat plans to build a 20-cow suckler herd using some of his pedigree British Friesian cows, crossing them with an Angus bull.
Pat describes this transition as a ‘sustainable lifestyle choice’ - in contrast to recent years where he was ‘chasing his tail’. While his stock numbers are down by 40%, his feed and fertiliser costs have collapsed – by close to €30k – making his farm more resilient to the external shocks which dogged his previous system.
Though it’s early days, and while it’s been a steep learning curve, Pat feels “energised” by the process and the like-minded people he’s met, concluding that “it’s renewed my sense of purpose and helped me fall back in love with farming.”
Added value
While both of the Maher’s children have off-farm careers, Pat is clear that if the next generation is to actively farm, massive changes will be needed.
“Farmers are custodians of the land, soil and the environment, and Government needs to take a holistic approach and support that custodianship”. This will require better incomes and lifestyles and more public understanding, respect and support.
What’s apparent on visiting the Maher’s farm is the ‘added value’ brought by Pat’s management of these 25ha. Not only the obvious socio-economic benefit through high-quality food production on this family farm but also the environmental dividend from his nature-friendly approach.
The farm’s spectacular hedgerows are a badge of honour for Pat in a landscape where every inch of land is coveted. He won the Michael Hickey Memorial Award for hedgerows in 2024 and actively lays his hedges, and enhances field margins, under ACRES.
His grasslands are full of pollinators (he hasn’t used sprays in years), and resemble a sea of dandelion (the Irish chicory) - yellow in early summer.
Pat with Luke Hickey and Anthony Grogan at a recent hedge-laying event. \ Pat Maher
But it’s the social dividend from such multi-generational family-owned farms that is probably their least appreciated and most vulnerable attribute.
The farm has reared Pat’s family and he remains actively involved in the local Lions club and Historical Society, while also hosting events on the farm – including a hedge-laying demonstration with 150 attendees.
That’s a lot of added social, economic and environmental value generated on one small family farm. Particularly when compared with the extremes of ‘factory farming’ or of farmland when viewed simply as a ‘real estate’ opportunity for remote, exclusively profit-focussed, investors.
Pat Maher at his farm near Cashel Co Tipperary.
Pat worries that land is becoming affordable only for those with ‘deep pockets’, forming part of their wider ‘investment portfolio’, leading to a dysfunctional land market, like the current housing market. He believes that the resultant disconnect poses a huge threat to the environment – simplifying landscapes and destroying habitats.
It’s only Pat’s love of farming that prevented him from renting or selling his land: without his ongoing custodianship, would his magnificent hedgerows survive?
Investing in farmers
All things considered, most would agree that the model which delivers the greatest public good is the one whereby farm families earn a decent living from farming, producing nutritious food from a healthy environment and contributing to vibrant rural communities. To make this happen we need vision – but, more than that, we need action.
The EC 2040 vision, which proposes ‘fair and equitable food chains, better targeted public support, leveraging the opportunities of innovation, building an ambitious investment agenda and fostering entrepreneurship’ is an engaging read.
Consideration of the worrying consequences of not acting on it urgently should give added impetus to its implementation.
In this regard, the Maher’s farming journey offers plenty of food for thought.
Learn More
A Vision for Agriculture and Food: Shaping together an attractive farming and agri-food sector for future generations is available by visiting their we bpage hereTop Tips
If using contractors to manage your hedgerows, make sure they are fully aware what you want - and don’t let them out of your sight!
Farm facts
Name: Pat and Catherine Maher.Farm type: Suckler beef. Farm size: 25ha.Focus: To promote that good farming practice and protection of the environment are not mutually exclusive, in fact they enhance each other.Schemes: Organic Farming Scheme, ACRES General. 
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