Dear Editor

I read in the Irish Farmers Journal that a well-known prominent dairy farmer in Co Carlow, having built up a successful dairy unit has to exit dairy farming because the land he is leasing is being sold.

Articles like this show how risky it can be when dairy farmers build up a dairy farm depending on leased or rented land.

A lot of dairy farmers who own their own land may have expanded with leased land, in these changing times. This will inevitably leave their dairy business open to losing that land if circumstances change with regard to ownership of the leased land.

Dairy farmers who might be in a position to purchase leased land will have to be able to deal with the extra financial debt. Huge effort goes into leased land for dairy.

Grazing infrastructure for dairy farming will cost money to install. I know at the end of the day, dairy farmers and other farmers will need to take a chance and lease or rent land.

But the risks exist if change of ownership with regard to the leased land will have to be included in the business planning.

Dairy farmers in particular need to be careful renting any additional land for dairy, it is an extra layer of risk on an enterprise.