There is a growing disconnect between consumers and farmers and it’s only when food is scarce that consumers appreciate what they have, according to tillage farmer, Bobby Miller who farms outside Stradbally.
Educating consumers is vital, said Bobby who owns 110 acres, renting another 80, growing winter barley, spring barley, winter gluten-free oats and winter oil seed rape.
He said: “We need consumers to be conscious of where food comes from. If we are serious about climate change, the environment and sustainability, one of our priorities should be to buy Irish grain.”
Involved in the Irish Grain Growers’ Group since its infancy, Bobby, who recently stepped down as chair, is staying on as joint secretary with Clive Carter from Ratheniska, to remain involved with the group.
“I served more than enough time as chair and it was time to move on anyway. It was time-consuming and took away from family life and other interests I had,” reflected Bobby.
The group initially came together as a coterie of farmers in Laois, Kildare, Carlow, Kilkenny and Wexford, dedicated to the growing of malting barley.
The farmers voiced concern about grain prices in 2014. “We focused on malting barley, the cost of production and the price we were receiving.
“We were disillusioned by the whole drinks industry because of the offer of €147 a tonne which didn’t match up with the cost of production. The group evolved from that and it was officially formed in 2016.”
The group started a campaign outside Boortmalt in Athy and ended up outside the gates of Guinness in Dublin.
Post that campaign, farmers received price offers pre-sowing and pre-harvest, giving them more clarity when entering into contracts thereafter.
The group then broadened its focus to the whole tillage sector which members felt was in need of better representation.
“The tillage sector is a complex one. We highlight many different aspects and we have to compete on a worldwide market while being expected to produce grain with far higher husbandry standard to comply with,” said Bobby.
“Many areas need to be addressed including what’s happening with the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the unfair competition we have to deal with on the world market,” he said.
“We recently visited the current MEPs in Brussels to highlight the issues. The reality is that the Irish tillage sector produces about two million tonnes of grain and legumes yet the Irish agricultural industry uses about seven million tonnes a year now.
“The requirement to import is growing year-on-year and feedstuffs are imported from up to 60 different countries.
“Ireland imports genetically modified feedstuffs which we are restricted from growing. We are constantly highlighting that the way forward is sustainability. We hear about climate action every day – Irish grain has a proven very low carbon,” the Laois farmer said.
The Irish Grain Growers’ Group has got its feet under a lot of tables, according to Bobby.
The group is represented on the Department of Agriculture lead AgWater committee; the tillage vision stakeholder group; the CAP review committee; the fodder and food security committee; the fertiliser register committee; the climate KIC committee and the Teagasc tillage stakeholder group.
It is also involved with the leaders’ forum on nature restoration, just recently started.
“In the recent election, both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil published manifestos with a specific spend for tillage going forward.
“I had never heard of that before which is progress. The tune is beginning to change and tillage is being spoken about a lot more and we see this as a result.
“We are putting our best foot forward. Changes are coming down the line but we have a good body of work done,” contended Bobby.
He wants to see the next CAP being simplified for farmers, with less red tape to endure.
An increase in members is one goal for the group. “We have over 300 members currently and there are 4,500 tillage farmers in the country at present.
“Another 6-700 are mixed farming, livestock and tillage on their farms. The number of tillage farmers is dropping at a rate of around one a week, according to Irish Grain Assurance Scheme.
“Thankfully we have practically full employment in Ireland currently. Jobs available for many reasons, are able to draw away individuals from tillage farming and you can’t blame them for leaving the sector.
“You can’t blame the potential next generation of farmers for not taking the farming career,” Bobby said.
Generational renewal which is about empowering a new generation of highly qualified young and new farmers to bring the full benefits of new ideas to support sustainable farming practices in Europe, is a big issue, according to the Laois farmer.
In his case, his father bought the land he now works in 1959, having moved the short distance from Vicarstown to Stradbally.
Son, Cathal (23) is in college and daughter, Maisy, (6), will be let choose their own career paths, just as his father did with him, Bobby said.
Over-regulation is a headache in farming in general and particularly in the tillage sector, he said. “Farmers have to deal with way too much red tape when they just want to farm and that has to change,” said Bobby.
“Having said that, it’s a way of life that I love. You are working in nature and there are quiet times in tillage farming so you can get away from the farm for breaks.
“It works well for part-time farming also. A lot of my neighbours are part-time farmers, a lot of them younger than me so that’s a positive,” mused Bobby.
“It’s a pity that we are letting go of our traditional foods and rural lifestyle. In many respects, we embraced the EU too much.
“When you visit other countries I think they have held on to their traditions better. Maybe I’m wrong but are we holding on to our Irish identity enough?,” he queried.
“The future of tillage in Ireland has many challenges going forward. Would Ukraine joining the EU wipe out tillage here in Ireland?” Bobby pondered.
Picture: Alf Harvey
“Let’s hope peace breaks out there in the near future. There are many challenges beyond Irish tillage farmers’ control and that won’t change going forward.
“Despite all that I think tillage is a very interesting career choice. You are learning all the time which I love whether it’s new machinery, technology, new plant breeding techniques, the complexity of the soil we work with or giving nature a better place on our farms.
“The future of Irish tillage is certainly going to be interesting and remember we all have to eat every day, food originating from farms, not shop shelves.”
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