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“Vulture funds are one of the main problems coming down the road,” ICSA rural development chair Seamus Sherlock said upon his re-election at the organisation’s AGM this Thursday. Sherlock said he was receiving increasing numbers of calls from farmers in financial difficulty, or from their spouse – including at night, when their problems kept them awake.
“Farmers are contacting us with loans just sold to vulture funds and they have no idea how to deal with it,” he said.
His first response has been to provide a listening ear, followed by working with solicitors and financial advisors to help farming families restructure their debt.
“The farmer is going to pay it back, fair enough, but he needs the time,” he said. This becomes harder when faced with investors who are looking for a quick return over five years, he added.
We can see where it’s going to go to the gates
While he is not hoping for stand-offs on farms as repossession cases progress, Sherlock said the ICSA was prepared for it.
“We can see where it’s going to go to the gates – if the farmer is genuine,” he said.
Financial difficulties have taken a heavy toll on the farming community, the Co Limerick suckler and beef farmer said, adding that he knew personally 11 farmers who have taken their own life in the past seven to eight years.
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