Last week’s announcement by IDA Ireland regarding Dexcom Inc building its newest global manufacturing facility in Athenry, Co Galway, has been heralded as a major opportunity to support increased employment in the west of Ireland.

However, the announcement of the €300m project, unfortunately, has negative implications for Newford Farm, the 100-cow suckler-to-beef demonstration farm, which is located on the development site.

Newford Farm was established by Teagasc and Dawn Meats in 2015, with support from McDonald’s and the Irish Farmers Journal, and has been in situ in the Newford land block for almost 10 years.

Lands

The land identified by the IDA is part of approximately 90ha of lands purchased from Teagasc in 2007 and which has been leased by Teagasc for over 10 years. The recent announcement only concerns a portion of these lands.

In a statement released this week, Teagasc welcomed “the positive announcement for the Athenry area and the west of Ireland”.

It stated that the next step is to enter discussions with the IDA on the transition process for the land lease, with a particular focus on establishing the anticipated timeframe.

It will seek to maintain the suckler beef demonstration herd in Newford Farm

Teagasc said that it will seek to maintain the suckler beef demonstration herd in Newford Farm for as long as is feasibly possible.

The State organisation said it is also in discussions with its partners Dawn Meats on future plans for the project.

“The farm acts as a shop window to demonstrate the technologies that improve profitability and environmental sustainability in suckler to beef systems," it said.

"It operates in a completely transparent manner, with all measurements and financial data available to visiting groups, other interested parties and the farming public.”

The IDA announcement will not have any effect on the Newford open day, which takes place on Tuesday 23 May from 2pm to 6pm.

The event will provide farmers with an opportunity to review progress over the last eight years and learn about current plans.