Agri Review 2017

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REVIEW OF THE IRISH AGRI-FOOD
INDUSTRY 2017-2018
DIGITAL PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2017
PUBLISHING
COMPANY
OF THE YEAR
2016
PUBLISHING
COMPANY
OF THE YEAR
2016

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The land area of the Republic of Ireland (RoI) is 6.9
million (m) hectares (ha), of which 4.4m ha are used for
agriculture and a further 0.73m ha are used for forestry.
Approximately 81% of agricultural area is devoted to
pasture, hay and grass silage (3.6m ha), 11% to rough
grazing (0.5m ha) and 8% to crops (including cereals),
fruit and horticulture production (0.36m ha). The average
land price in Ireland in 2015 was estimated to be €8,194
per acre (p/ac).
According to the Department of Agriculture, Food
and the Marine (DAFM), the agri-food and drink sector
accounted for 10.7% of Ireland’s exports and 8.4% of
total employment (2015 data). In 2016, Irish agri-food
and drink exports increased by an estimated 2% to
approximately €11.15 billion (bn), according to Bord
Bia, the Irish Food Board (2017 data).
In 2016, the Gross Agricultural Output (GAO) was
valued at €6.92 bn (DAFM, 2016 data).The beef and
dairy categories are the largest and account for 38.8%
and 29.5% of GAO, respectively. Other sectors to have
a share in GAO include pig (7.8%), sheep (4%), cereals
(3.9%), and other (16%).
The UK was the main destination for Irish agri-food and
drink exports in 2016, accounting for 37% of all exports;
32% went to EU markets; and 31% went to international
markets.
The distribution of Ireland’s agri-food and drink exports
in 2016, by sector, was as follows: dairy products and
ingredients – 30%; beef – 21%; prepared consumer
foods – 17%; beverages – 13%; pigmeat – 6%; seafood
– 5%; poultry – 3%; sheepmeat – 2%; edible horticulture
and cereals – 2%; and live animals – 1%.
Introduction
REVIEW OF THE IRISH AGRI-FOOD INDUSTRY 2017-2018
The Irish Farmers Monthly is a direct mail targeted publication aimed at top commercial farmers. Established in 1975, IFP Media
published Irish Farmers Monthly as one of its flagship titles.
A target market is a group of customers towards which a business has decided to aim its marketing efforts and ultimately, its
merchandise. A well-defined target market is the first element to a marketing strategy.
The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule) is a common rule of thumb in business, eg. “Eighty per cent of your sales come
from 20 per cent of your clients”. The Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, observed in 1906 that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by
20% of the population.
The United Nations Development Programme Report (2006), demonstrated that this was still the case as the distribution of global
income showed the richest 20% of the population controlled 82.7% of the world’s income.
So, for success in agribusiness, if you are supplying farm inputs and services, then your advertising and communications should target
the relevant farmer audience. As can be seen from the circulation of the Irish Farmers Monthly, this is the case when you analyse the
following data. Targeting top commercial livestock and arable farmers are paramount to the Irish Farmers Monthly database.

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Irish food exports still growing
The Irish food and drink industry recorded its seventh
year of consecutive growth in exports during 2016.
Since 2010, the industry, as a whole, has seen a 41%
or €3.27bn increase in the value of exports, according
to Bord Bia. Figures from January to July, 2017, show an
increase of 12% in the value of food and drink exports.
The abolition of quotas and overall dairy expansion,
combined with the recovery in the market over the past
year, have led to an increase in dairy exports of 22%.
The meat and livestock industry experienced growth of
5%, while seafood exports were up 18% in the first six
months of 2017. A 13% rise in the prepared foods sector
was also noted, with the edible horticulture and cereals
industry recording a small increase of 1%.
So far this year, Africa has seen a 23% increase in Irish
exports. North America has seen a 20% rise, while the
Middle East recorded a 15% hike. There was also a 15%
increase in exports destined for Asia.
Other EU destinations recorded a 14% increase in Irish
exports. Ireland experienced an increase of 6% in the
value of exports to Britain in the first six months of this
year which was encouraging given all the pressures with
sterling.
Overall, 45% of the growth has come from international
markets; EU markets have expanded by 35%; and there
has been 20% growth in Britain. Germany is our sixth-
largest export market for food and drink with a value of
€600m during 2016.
Irish dairy, beef and prepared foods are Ireland’s top
three food exports to Germany. Export performance
to date for 2017 has been up 24%, driven by significant
increases in dairy and prepared foods.
Irish food and drink products are sold in 180 markets
worldwide – worth €11.15bn, to date. When the first
six months of 2017 are compared to the corresponding
period in 2016, every sector has seen some growth in
exported product.
Reduced farm machinery sales
According to Ireland’s Farm Tractor and Machinery
Trade Association (FTMTA), tractor sales fell by 12% in
the first six months of 2017. There were 1,168 tractors
sold between January and June, 2017, compared
with 1,335 in the same period last year. However, the
increasing horsepower (hp) of the tractors sold is a
consideration here.
One in five tractors sold was in the over-150hp bracket,
and, typically, bought by contractors and large tillage
growers. Some 53% of the tractors sold were between
100hp and 120hp.
Sales of backhoes increased by 40% during the first half
of 2016, while sales of self-propelled forage harvesters
were also strong
Tractor prices have increased again with the latest
emissions regulations adding to cost. The average
price for a standard 100hp tractor is now approximately
€55,000, with higher-specification models costing up to
€80,000.
The latest registration figures from Ireland’s Central
Statistics Office (CSO) show high numbers of imported
tractors, but also a recovery in new tractor sales.

5
Some 194 used tractors were imported in October, 48
more than the same month last year. This brings the total
so far this year to 2,114, a 35% increase on the first 10
months of 2016.
Meanwhile, there were 93 new tractors registered in RoI
last month. This is a major jump on the 69 registered in
October 2016, but still significantly behind 2015 figures.
There were 1,661 new tractors registered between January
and October, a 6.5% drop on the same period last year.
The top-five selling counties are Cork, followed by
Tipperary, Galway, Wexford and Kilkenny. John Deere is
the market-leader closely followed by New Holland with
Massey Ferguson in third place.
This year, 2017, has been unusual, as the number of
imported used tractors is significantly higher than new
tractor sales. This has been the case since mid-2016,
when the Brexit referendum in the UK caused the value of
sterling to fall, making used tractors from the UK cheaper
to buy for Irish farmers.
According to the National Ploughing Association (NPA),
the value of all equipment at the National Ploughing
Championship (NPC) last September was in excess of
€45m.
In a positive development for tillage farmers, TAMS II will
offer the opportunity to invest in global positioning system
(GPS) equipment and other sustainable farming machinery.
According to the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA)
in the United Kingdom (UK), new tractor sales in Northern
Ireland (NI) during 2016 increased by 3.4% to 454 units.
Across the UK, as a whole, tractor sales fell by 2.2% to
10,602 units in 2016. NI was one of the few regions to
experience an increase in sales; however, this was from a
low base.
Other than in 2015, the 454 tractors registered last year
in NI is the lowest number in AEA records, which cover
the past 14 years. The highest number of registrations in
NI in recent years was in 2007, when 1,020 tractors were
registered.
The FTMTA’s Grass & Muck event takes place every second
year at Gurteen College, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary. This
event alternates with the FTMTA’s Farm Machinery Show
which takes place in Punchestown, Co. Kildare.
Last year, Grass & Muck attracted 11,000 visitors. While
it has numerous static exhibits, the event’s real attraction
comprises the working demos during which mowers,
tedders, rakes, harvesters, wagons, balers and wrappers
are put through their paces. Grass & Muck will return to
the Gurteen College site on May 17, 2018.
The first-ever FTMTA Farm Machinery Trade Auction was
held at Punchestown on Saturday, September 30, 2017.
It attracted more than 2,500 people and €1.2m worth of
machinery was sold on the day.
In total, there was over 250 lots on offer including tractors,
wrappers, balers, bale lifters, combines, seed drills, trailers
and teleporters. There were more than 500 registered
bidders on the day and a further 100 online.
In 2016, the market for self-propelled silage harvesters on
the island of Ireland was around 45 machines, representing
a drop of about 14% on 2015. This is an overall investment
of over €13m. The relatively strong market is driven by
attractive finance deals at a time when many agricultural
contractors have serious cashflow issues.
The Claas brand is number one, John Deere is in second
place followed by New Holland. Claas has the widest
range of self-propelled forage harvesters and accounts for
half of all forage harvesters sold worldwide.
Baled silage market still
growing
Baled silage has never been as popular on Irish farms
and with increasing livestock numbers, the market for
silage is growing. Preliminary CSO estimates for June
2017 show that the total number of cattle was 7,363,500,
an increase of 142,300 (+2.0%) on June 2016.
The number of cattle aged two years and over
(excluding cows and bulls) increased by 72,600
(+10.1%). Cattle aged one to two years increased by
60,700 (+3.3%) and dairy cows increased by 34,800
(+2.5%).
The need for low-height, high-protein grass has forced
many farmers into taking out more mature paddocks for
baled silage. The weather also has a big bearing on the
amount of bales wrapped in any year.

6
So, due to the prolonged periods of wet weather this
has been a good year for making baled silage. The
expected shortage of forage next spring is also pushing
bales up to record price levels.
Over the last five years, the use of a wide polythene film
to bind bales before wrapping has grown significantly.
The McHale Fusion is the market leader in this area.
As it stands, at least 10 combi-wrappers have been
launched over the last five years, which are capable
of wrapping using this ‘film & film’ method, with other
manufacturers currently in development.
Forage in short supply for
spring 2018
It looks like it could be a very long winter for livestock
producers in the west of Ireland and in parts of Ulster.
The spells of very poor weather in July, August and
September have severely hampered forage-making
operations in the region.
The poor weather has also left farmers with no option
but to start feeding from whatever fodder they already
have in store. This is, of course, good news for the
compound feed millers as they will be expected to
make up the forage gap with appropriately formulated
concentrates.
First-cut silages made in late April and in early May are
of exceptional quality but quantity is obviously an issue.
Given the break in weather after this period, most late first-
cuts deteriorated in quality and there was little opportunity
to take second or third cuts of silage on many farms.
So, the lack of forage stocks and lower feed quality will
make for a difficult winter on some farms. Straw is also
scarcer and more expensive this year so that makes
the problem worse as a tonne of straw incorporated in
a mixer wagon diet can normally replace one tonne of
silage.
Tough times for Irish cereal
growers
A deepening income crisis for tillage farmers, low prices
for a fifth consecutive year and poor weather, require a
Government-backed plan, an Oireachtas committee has
been told. In fact, there has been a 20% decline in Irish
cereal acreage over the past 10 years.
The acreage of cereals was down again this year and, of
course, the wet weather conditions during the harvest
made baling straw even more difficult.
However, despite a lower acreage planted the cereal
production was up on 2016 at 2.3m tonnes (t), as spring
barley reached record yields. According to Teagasc,
spring barley yields were a record high at
7.8t/ha, while yield (t/ha) for wheat, barley and oats –
both spring and winter – were all higher than the previous
year.

7
Preliminary CSO estimates for June 2017 show that the
area under cereals fell by 8,900ha (-3.2%) to 272,200ha.
This was mainly due to a decrease of 9,700ha (-12.9%)
under winter barley and a decrease of 900ha (-1.3%) in
the area under wheat.
Teagasc estimates large decreases in the area of
land planted to the 2017 winter crops. It estimates
that 123,000ha of winter cereals have been sown – a
drop of 14.5%.
Delayed harvest, straw lying on fields and poor sowing
conditions have contributed to the decline in sowings
and, maybe in some cases, a poor price outlook for
2018.
However, there are some positives as lower conacre
prices have significantly reduced costs while higher
yields have compensated, to some extent, for lower
cereal prices. There was also a much higher price for
straw this autumn even if it was not all saved due to
poor weather conditions. Tillage farmers growing
malting barley and oats are getting a contract price so
they are not depending on world commodity prices.
Longer term, overstocked dairy farmers short of grass
and silage will need to purchase barley and straw, etc.
from tillage farmers, as renting or buying extra land is
not an option for them.
Already, many livestock farmers who use mixer wagons
have made arrangements with tillage farmers to supply
them with barley, straw, forage maize, brassicas and
fodder beet, etc.
Boortmalt currently has over 600 suppliers growing malt
barley from 60,000ha of land in Ireland, with plans for
this to increase next year.
Not surprisingly, combine harvester sales fell this year,
following several years of low grain prices. Some 25 new
combines were sold in 2017, down from 31 last year. It is
only a fraction of the 80 combines sold in 2012. Claas is
the top seller this year.
Bigger farm machines and
higher-horsepower tractors
With bigger dairy herds and less labour available, the
trend is to purchase bigger mixer wagons and bigger
slurry tankers. Of course, much of the slurry is spread by
farm contractors.
Recent research carried out by the Association of Farm
& Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI) indicates that
land-based contractors provide slurry spreading services
for up to 10bn litres (L) of slurry every year on Irish farms.
The FCI believes that the schemes currently in place to
promote low emissions-spreading technology are unlikely
to be sufficient to meet future ammonia targets.
These schemes should be extended to include land-
based contractors in order to achieve the levels of
ammonia emissions reductions being sought by the
Government, the national chair of the FCI, Richard
White, said.
Irish farm contractors in Ireland employ close to 10,000
people, offering a range of services to the wider
agricultural community.
According to the FCI, contractors use more than 500m L
of diesel annually and operate more than 20,000 tractors
– about one third of the national fleet.
FCI has confirmed that its next biennial conference and
exhibition, Confex, will take place at the National Show
Centre, Cloghran, Swords, Co. Dublin, on January 10,
2018. FBD Insurance is the lead sponsor of this one-day
event.
FCI says that it maintains a database of more than 1,000
farm and forestry contractors across the island of Ireland
– all of whom will be invited to participate in the event.
Education & Teagasc update
Teagasc income in 2016 was €187m, which is €12m
more than its 2015 income. There was an increase of
€5.6m in grant aid compared to 2015. Knowledge
transfer (KT) income increased by €6.6m (32%) and
research income was similar to the previous year. Over
400 A1 scientific papers were published
In KT, there was an increase in advisory services income,
which was achieved by delivering new schemes through
a partner, Farm Relief Services (FRS) Networks.

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Key digital developments:
• Online nutrient management planning tool (NMP)
rolled out by Teagasc to produce detailed nutrient
management plans for farms;
• Merger of Pasture Base Ireland and Agrinet grass
growth databases; and
• Public website powered by a new content
management system.
Key knowledge transfer & research outputs:
• 42,115 farmer clients serviced and 12,359 farmers in
Teagasc facilitated discussion groups;
• Teagasc trained over 170 tutors to deliver the
Beef Data Genomics Programme (BDGP) training
courses. Over 24,000 participants, in total, were
trained;
• 4,400 people took part in the adult Green Cert
education programme between autumn 2014 and
the end of 2016;
• New pig research facility opened in Teagasc
Moorepark, Co. Cork; and
• Research, education and conference centre opened
at Teagasc Ashtown, Dublin.
Key national and international events:
• Beef 2016 – National beef open day at the Teagasc
Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation
Centre, Grange, Co. Meath;
• Over 1,800 food scientists attended the
International Union of Food Science and Technology
Congress in Dublin organised by Teagasc;
• First ‘Energy in Agriculture’ event held in Gurteen
College, Co. Tipperary; and
• ‘Farming and Country Life’ event in Teagasc
Mellows campus, Athenry, Co. Galway.
Key collaborations:
• New joint dairy programmes established with
Arrabawn and Aurivo co-ops; and
• Memorandum of Understanding signed between
Teagasc and Sanyuan Foods, China.
The DAFM’s new KT scheme was opened to 5,000 dairy
and 7,000 beef farmers in 2017. Funding of €100m
under the Rural Development Programme has been
allocated for 27,000 farmers to participate, for three
years, in KT groups.
The Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) currently
has 144 professional members with a further 271
professional, technical and administration staff employed
throughout Ireland. An independent survey conducted by
Irish Small and Medium Enterprises (ISME) of the entire
membership in 2010, estimated that its members now
advise in the region of 44,500 farmers.
Teagasc is the main provider of further education
(Level 5/6) in agriculture, food, horticulture, forestry
and equine studies. Higher level courses are delivered
in partnership with third level colleges. The Teagasc-
owned agricultural colleges are in Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan;
Clonakilty, Co. Cork; Kildalton, Co. Kilkenny; and at the
Botanic Gardens in Dublin. The education department
of Teagasc partners with Gurteen College, Co.
Tipperary; Pallaskenry, Co. Limerick; and Mountbellew,
Co. Galway (private agriculture colleges) in the delivery
of agricultural education. These colleges offer a range
of Level 5 and Level 6 courses in agriculture, machinery
and equine.
There are 15 institutions in the RoI offering a range
of agricultural and related third level courses. These
include four universities: National University of Ireland
Galway (NUI Galway); National University of Ireland
Maynooth (NUI Maynooth); University College Cork
(UCC) and University College Dublin (UCD) and 10
Institutes of Technology (Athlone, Blanchardstown,
Carlow, Cork, Dundalk, [Galway Mayo Institute of
Technology – GMIT], Letterkenny, Sligo, Tralee and
Waterford).
In NI, agricultural-related courses are available at the
College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise
(CAFRE) in Co. Antrim, with campuses in Greenmount
and Loughry, as well as at Queens University, in Belfast.
Good prospects for poultry
industry post Brexit
The biennial Northern Ireland Poultry Industry

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Conference, which took place at CAFRE Loughry
Campus, last November, highlighted a bullish outlook
for poultry meat, with consumers increasingly choosing
it over other proteins. Export opportunities to Asia and
elsewhere also look positive.
Delegates heard how the sector had ‘remained resilient’
over the past year with total value sales in Ireland
estimated at £742m (€832m).
In NI, total value sales increased by 2%, from £253m in
2015 to £258m in 2016.
Total value sales in the poultry industry have also
increased in the RoI, by 3.15% to £465m (€521m) in
2016.
“Rising volume sales in the UK are likely to have a
stronger role than price inflation in driving value growth
within poultry, with 15.9% growth to £3.4bn by 2021
forecast,” according to Professor Geoff Simons from
Queens University.
“However, it is likely that the Irish and UK poultry
market will face some hurdles during the two-year Brexit
negotiations regarding trade agreements and tariffs,”
he added.
As regards global poultry production, Japan is the
world’s number-one poultry importer and Poland is
Europe’s number-one producer, followed by France and
Germany.
Declan Billington, CEO of John Thompson & Sons Ltd,
the largest feed compounder on the island of Ireland
cited Asia as a major potential export market for NI
poultry. He said: “We need to target Asia as a huge
potential market after Brexit, rather than Europe.”
In the RoI, the poultry sector supports around 6,000 jobs
and there are some 370 producers involved in poultry
production. The RoI exports 129,000t, with the UK
market accounting for 70% of shipments, which mainly
consists of processed product, while other key markets
include France and the Netherlands. Rivalled only by
pigmeat, poultry is the single largest category of meat
consumed in Ireland, accounting for some 37% of meat
consumption.
There are almost 240 producers involved in egg
production in the RoI and over 3.3m laying hens. The
retail sales of eggs in Ireland are valued at €100m with
the average consumer eating 169 eggs a year. Most
of the recent growth in egg consumption is in the
younger demographic where the frequency of purchase
continues to increase.
There are 14 feed millers and premix suppliers approved
by Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board. Last June, the
Swedish chicken processing company, Scandi Standard,
announced that it has entered into an agreement to
acquire Manor Farm, the largest chicken processor in
Ireland in a €70m deal.
The Manor Farm processing plant is in Shercock, Co.
Cavan. It has approximatley 130 farmers contracted as
growers and 43 contracted as breeders. It employs 850
people and operates a feed mill, which has sales of
€80m and produces solely for its contracted growers.
Pig producers doing well
The first half of 2017 was a relatively positive period for
Irish and EU pig producers. As of March 2017, the EU is
the world’s largest exporter of pigmeat, followed by the
US and Canada.
The biggest global importer of pig meat is China
followed by Japan and Mexico. The rate of pigmeat
consumption in most countries is relatively stable from
year to year.
However, rising Chinese income levels and resultant
increased buying power has generated a rapid increase

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in pigmeat consumption. It has grown from 12kg per
head in 1980 to 40kg today in a market with 1.4bn
people
Currently, the pig industry employs about 7,000 people
(on-farm, slaughtering/processing, feed manufacture,
transport, services, supplies, buildings and equipment)
mostly in rural areas and small towns.
Commercial pig production is carried out in fewer
than 350 pig units which produce about 98% of our
production. Typically, units are large and specialised
with skilled staff who utilise the latest technology.
JMW Farms is Ireland’s biggest pig producer with about
300,000 animals, selling 7,000 a week (5,000 in Ireland
and the balance in the UK). Based in NI, JMW Farms is
investing in a €2.5m ‘finishing’ farm in Co. Louth after
spending three years securing planning permission.
The farm will handle 10,000 pigs at a time, where they
will spend 12 weeks before being sent to slaughter.
JMW Farms’ Jim Wright was a finalist in the Ernst &
Young (EY) Entrepreneur of the Year.
The company has annual turnover of £40m and was a
‘bit better than breakeven’ last year. Mr Wright said,
2014 was its ‘best year’ when it made profits of €3m but
the market has turned since then.
JMW’s Farms’ business model involves buying old farms,
securing planning permission and building out new
facilities. The company makes all its own equipment,
all its own feed, generates its own electricity, and
transports the animals itself.
It has 15 company-owned farms and 50 operated
by contractors. This includes two breeding farms
in counties Offaly and Monaghan with Louth
coming on stream. It also has farms in Dorset
and Cornwall in England. Sainsbury’s is its biggest
customer in the UK and it exports ribs to the US and
feet and heads to China.
Other large pig producers in the RoI include the Kiernan
family based in Co. Cavan who have many units in the
north midlands. At the Teagasc pig conference last
October, a survey was published comparing 28 large pig
units (c.800 sows) who manufactured their own feed with
71 who purchased their feed requirements (c.700 sows).
The cost per kg dead weight was €1.02 for home milling
versus €1.04 for those who purchased their feed. The
feed cost per pig produced was €85.08 for home milling
versus €86.75 for those who purchased their feed. The
number of pigs produced per sow per annum was 26.1
for the home feed millers versus 25.2 for those who
purchased their feed.
Billy Costello, who has a large pig unit and an anaerobic
digester in Nurney, Co. Kildare, also has large pig units
and anaerobic digesters in Britain and Germany.
Excellent prospects for
renewable energy
There are nearly 9,000 biogas – or anaerobic digestion
– plants in Germany. They are, typically, operated by
farmers, and turn renewable energy crops like maize or
turnips, plus manure, into a gas constituting of roughly
50% methane and 50% CO2
.
Anaerobic digestion can be used to generate electricity
and heat, or can be processed into renewable natural gas
and transportation fuels. This process could certainly help
us to meet our EU targets for renewable energy and help
us avoid a potential fine of €360m per annum.
Ireland, along with Denmark and Luxembourg, has the

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most challenging target for greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions reductions in the EU; a 20% reduction on
2005 emissions levels by 2020. Emissions targets also
include emissions from agriculture and waste disposal
which currently account for 34% of Ireland’s total GHG
emissions.
At present, the RoI is only halfway towards meeting
its EU targets, with just 8.6% of energy consumption
derived from renewables.
Today, more than 250 windfarms power Irish businesses
and communities across the all-Ireland energy market.
Their total capacity now exceeds 3 gigawatts (GW),
which is enough to power almost 2m homes. Just over
20% of our electricity is now generated by wind energy.
Ireland is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, the bulk of it
imported. Ireland imports 85% of our energy, at a cost of
€5.7bn, or about €15m every day. About 97% of imports
are fossil fuels; oil (56%), natural gas (31%), and coal
(10%), according to the Sustainable Energy Authority of
Ireland. The remainder is electricity (2%), and biofuels
(1%).
More than 20,000 acres of land owned by Irish farmers
are now under solar energy contracts as solar energy
development companies are chasing the lucrative rural
renewables market.
Gas Networks Ireland is in talks with 12 separate farming
entities, including one potential co-op, with a view to
establishing digesters and purification plants to capture
gas from slurry and pump it directly into the national gas
network.
The potential is that 20% of the gas demand in Ireland
could be met by renewable gas by 2030 so this could be
a great boost to farm incomes post Brexit. This could be
easily ramped up from feedstocks that are already close
to the gas network.
Dairy industry in Ireland is
booming
The dairy industry in the RoI is on track to increase milk
production from 5bn L of milk per year in 2015 to more
than 7bn L in 2018. There has been more than 600 new
entrants to dairy farming in the last three years.
Milk price in the RoI has risen from a base price close to
22c/L up to 32c/L in the last two years. Over half of the
milk in the country is produced from herds with over 150
cows. The proportion of dairy cows in herds of 100 cows
or greater increased from 13% in 2005 to 47% in 2016.
Average herd size in the ROI is now approximately
90 cows, the production per dairy farm is 370,000L and
the average yield per cow is quite low at only 5,000L.
The dairy industry is facing a severe shortage of new
recruits. The average dairy farmer is currently 58 years of
age, so we will need approximately 6,000 new entrants
over the next decade to replace retirees and meet the
requirements of expanding herds.
However, Irish dairy farms have the potential to double
the average milk solids produced by their dairy cows
within the next 20 years, according to Donagh Berry of
Teagasc.
According to Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF)
data, Cork has 367,556 dairy cows, Tipperary has
161,921, Limerick has 118,461, and Kerry has 107,050.
So, these four counties account for 52% of all the cows
in the country, which has around 17,000 active dairy
farmers.
In September 2017, the volume of raw milk produced
was 159.67m L. This was 5.5% higher than the
corresponding month in 2016. Eurostat data for May and

12
June 2017 show a 2.5% rise in the number of Irish dairy
cows, compared with 2016. This is in contrast to a 1% fall
in the EU as a whole.
There are only 2,684 dairy farms in NI and 315,800 cows.
The average herd size is almost 120 cows. Average yield
is around 7,000L and cows in NI receive at least twice
as much compound feed as those in the RoI. The dairy
industry in NI employs more than 2,000 people.
NI Agricultural Census
Preliminary results of the June 2017 Agricultural
Census in Northern Ireland have been released by the
Deptartment of Agriculture, Environment and Rural
Affairs for Northern Ireland.
The area of cereals grown decreased by 2% to 32,600ha
with winter wheat, winter barley and oats all decreasing
in 2017. The area of spring barley grown is similar to the
previous year and remains the most popular cereal crop
with 14,700ha planted across NI.
The area of potatoes increased by 9% to 4,100ha,
building on last year’s recovery from the record low of
3,800ha grown in 2015. The area of arable crop silage
increased by 4% to 3,500ha whereas, the area of forage
maize increased by 12% to 1,400ha.
For forage maize, this ends the downward trend since
the peak of 3,500ha grown in 2008.
Cattle: Total cattle numbers were unchanged from June
2016. From its all-time high in 2016, the number of dairy
cows decreased slightly to 315,800 head. The number of
beef cows decreased by 1% to 267,100 head.
Sheep: There was a 2% rise in the number of breeding
ewes compared with 2016. Numbers have fluctuated
in recent years, falling to a 20-year-low of 876,000 in
2010 before increasing to 972,000 this year, which is the
highest level since 2006. Overall, the total number of
sheep recorded was almost 2.1m, a level not seen since
2006.
Pigs: In comparison with 2016, sow numbers increased
by 3% to 41,400, whereas, the overall pig herd was 8%
larger. Most pig categories are showing an upward
trend.
Poultry: Laying birds recorded for June 1, 2017,
increased by 10% to 3.9m birds, while broiler poultry
numbers increased by 9% at that date. The laying bird
population has shown strong growth since 2013 and this
is partly due to new producers who have entered the
industry.
The size of the agri-labour force is relatively unchanged
from the previous year with 47,800 workers. There has
been a small decrease in the number of full-time farmers
but this was offset by an increase in the number of other
regular workers both paid and unpaid.
Impact of Brexit on
agri-business
Our dairy products and pigmeat exports are well
diversified and world markets are growing in line with
higher income and an increased world population, so
Brexit will have little impact longer term.
With modern IT technology, the increased bureaucracy
necessary, post Brexit, for cross-border trading should
be minimised. A huge volume of milk from NI is
processed in the RoI, so some problems may arise for
food quality assurance schemes where, for example, the
same manufacturing facility is processing milk from the
RoI and NI.
However, Brexit will have a severe impact on the beef
industry. Just under 50% of all beef exported from

13
Ireland in 2016 was destined for the UK, 40% went to the
rest of Europe and the remainder, approximately 10%,
was shipped to non-EU markets.
Post Brexit, if Ireland is granted access to the UK market
under a free-trade agreement, it would mean that Irish
beef would have to compete with lower-priced product
from South American countries.
The Brazilian beef price, based on the year-to-date, is
33% beneath the Irish R3 steer price. In addition, the
UK’s departure from the EU could see the Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget decline by 10%.
This, along with lower beef prices, would see the
average Irish beef farm experience an income drop of
over 35%.
For cattle-rearing farms, this would be a drop of €4,000;
income of other farms could decline by €5,000 per
annum.
Good year for cattle industry
This year, 2017, has been a positive year for live exports.
So far, 100,000 young calves have been exported to the
Netherlands, Spain and Italy. To date, almost 17,000 Irish
cattle have been exported to the Turkish market, and
this follows shipments of almost 20,000 head in autumn
2016.
According to the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), Turkey
has an annual import requirement of 500,000 head of
live cattle and the RoI could supply up to 100,000 head
of this requirement each year.
Cumulative throughputs for cattle to meat plants, as of late
November 2017, are up 6% or over 86,000 at around 1.54m
head. The largest increases were for steers and heifers, up
by 9% and 7%, respectively, while cull cows are up 4%.
As of late November 2017, the beef trade continues to
be dominated by a strong factory appetite and high
levels of throughput. At the top of the market, regular
sellers are securing a base of €3.90/kg for steers and
€4.00/kg for heifers, with most cattle are selling at
around €3.85/kg for steers and €3.95/kg for heifers.
The cattle kill to date this year, is running 81,500 head
ahead of the same time last year and the annual kill is on
track to be the highest in more than 10 years. Demand
at home is being bolstered by a thriving manufacturing
trade and growth in exports outside of the Eurozone.
Exports to Hong Kong have increased taking 2,935t of
beef in September. Indeed, Hong Kong took more Irish
beef than Italy, Germany or Sweden. The Philippines
took 1,532t in September, bringing its total purchases of
Irish beef to almost 16,000t for year to date.
However, the wet weather this autumn and an early
winter has forced many livestock farmers to house cattle
early due to poor grazing conditions. This will increase
winter feed costs and force some farmers to reduce
stock levels and sell for a lower price.

14
Teagasc estimates that only one in five of the 35,000
farms with suckler cows will be economically viable in
the long term. In 2015, 45% of suckler farms were only
sustainable due to off-farm employment.
Ireland’s Beef Data and Genomics Programme
(BDGP) was launched in 2015 to inject up to €52m
per annum, for six years, into the suckler beef sector,
while accelerating genetic improvement and improving
environmental sustainability.
However, fewer than 24,000 of the original 30,000
applicants have been able to qualify for payments.
Latest figures from the ICBF show that the suckler herd is
continuing to decline as dairy cow and calf numbers grow.
According to ICBF suckler cow numbers are at their
lowest in a decade, as the dairy herd expands at a rapid
rate. There are 1,004,334 beef-bred cows in the RoI
currently, a drop of almost 80,000 on the 2009 peak,
the latest figures from the ICBF show. This is the lowest
number of suckler cows since 2007, when there were
993,889 beef-bred cows.
So, the meat industry will be depending on beef-cross
calves from the dairy herd for an increasing percentage
of their future supplies.
Indeed, ICBF statistics have shown a significant increase
in the use of beef-breed bulls on the Friesian dairy herd
in Ireland over the last four years. Beef-breed sires were
used on 39.25% of the Friesian dairy herd of 1,205,941
cows in 2016.
Angus sires were used on 235,502, or 19.5% of all
Friesian cows, while Hereford sires were used on 157,688
Friesian cows, or 13.07% of the total.
Limousin sires were used on 4.7% of all Friesian cows,
being used as the sire for 57,756 cows. Belgian Blue
bulls were chosen by farmers for 23,972 Friesian cows,
accounting for 1.98% of the total.
A beef-cross calf is worth over €100 more than a dairy
bull calf from the same cow or the equivalent to 1.6c/L
so we can expect to see more farmers using beef cross
on dairy cows not being bred for replacement.
Feed trade doing well
With greatly increased milk prices, dairy farmers in
particular have been feeding extra compound feed
this year. In addition, with a shortage of forage the
compound trade can expect extra sales this winter and
next spring.
The CSO data for feed, fertilisers and energy/lubricants
purchased is as follows:
As can be seen due to increasing livestock numbers,
compound feed sales are increasing and are likely to
increase further due to bigger dairy herds and improved
milk prices. Fertiliser sales have not changed much in
volume terms but have been impacted by the decline
in the tillage sector. However, they are likely to increase
due to a higher demand for forage from the dairy herd
and improved milk prices.
Sheep trade improving
According to Bord Bia, cumulative figures for sales to
meat plants as of late November for year to date have
reached 2.57m head of lamb, up 10% or 234,000 head
compared to 2016. The long-term prospects for Irish
sheepmeat is for prices to, at least, hold steady and
possibly strengthen, according to Kepak, which is a
major exporter.
There has been impressive growth in Germany, Belgium
and Scandinavia where Irish sheepmeat has performed
well. In Sweden, demand has increased by 30% in the
year to date. The US market also has huge potential as
it only produces 45% of what it consumes. Kepak has
invested heavily in state-of-the-art facilities to provide
cooked and ready-to-eat lamb options such as lamb
burgers.
The December 2016 DAFM census shows the ewe flock
rising by 137,037 head to 2.64m ewes with total ewe
numbers rising 450,000 head since 2009. The greatest
increase occurred in counties Donegal, Mayo and
2014 2015 2016 Change
Compound feed €1,296.6m €1,317.4m €1,354.2m
Value €+2.8%
Volume +4.1 %
Fertilisers €565.6m €565.1m €503.2m
Value €-11%
Volume -0.8 %
Energy & lubricants €455m €400.3m €369.4m
Value €-7.7%
Volume +0.2 %

15
Galway. If Kerry and Wicklow are included, these five
counties possess 50.6% of the national ewe population.
There are around 45,000 registered flock-keepers on the
DAFM database. On average, there were 108 sheep per
flock with only 31% above the average flock size.
According to the CSO, last June sheep numbers were
up by 73,700 (+1.4%) to 5,252,900 while non-breeding
sheep were up 2.5%.
Excellent long-term prospects
for forestry
Due to the likely impact of Brexit on cattle prices, an
ageing farming population and the attractive grants for
forestry, we can expect to see more livestock farmers
switching more of their land to forestry in the future.
Recent economic analysis from Teagasc confirms that
forestry is a better commercial land-use option than
cattle and sheep farm systems on marginal land, even
allowing for the long-term nature of forestry.
For 2017, a target of planting a total of 7,140ha of
forestry was outlined in the DAFM’s Forestry Programme
2014-2020.
However, only 4,259ha had been planted as of October
2017. So this means that approximately 40% of the
target has yet to be completed and planting is at a 60-
year low. During 2016, 6,500ha were planted, which was
98% of the target.
More than 13,000 Irish farmers received a forestry
payment in 2016, and the most popular planting option
attracts an annual guaranteed premium of €510/ha.
Currently, only about 11% of land here is under forest
compared to an EU average of 42%.
In the most benign EU scenario, whereby Ireland is
afforded a less stringent target of cutting emissions by
25% alongside a substantial carbon credit for forestry,
the State faces a significant challenge, involving an
annual reduction in carbon emissions of 11m tonnes,
from the current level at 46m.
According to the IFA, farmers are holding off on
planting until the DAFM removes restrictions on
planting productive marginal land and paying farmers
a premium on all land they are obliged to set aside for
environmental enhancement.
There is significant potential for wood fuel to displace
fossil fuel, particularly in the generation of heat in
industrial, commercial, domestic and institutional
markets. After wind energy, wood fuel is the largest
contributor to renewable energy generation in Ireland.
Timber supply in Ireland is set to increase significantly
over the coming decade. The total harvest of
commercial roundwood in Ireland in 2015 was 3.02
million m3
. This is forecast to increase to over 6m m3
by
the mid-2020s and increase further still to 7.8m m3
by
the mid-2030s
Ireland exports 80% of its timber products – sawn,
timber and panel board. According to the Irish Forestry
and Forest Products Association (IFFPA), the total
value of forest product exports in 2015 was €355m.
The total export figure can be further broken down as
sawn softwood being €121m and panel board exports
amounting to €190m. In 2015, IFFPA reports that Ireland
was the second-largest exporter of oriented strand
board and particle board to the UK behind Germany
while it was the largest exporter of medium density
fibreboard to the UK.
All our major competitors in these product categories
are other EU nations. In relation to sawn softwood,
Ireland exported €67.13m to the UK in 2015. This
ranked Ireland at number four in the exporters list, with
Sweden, Finland and Latvia ahead in the list. The UK
sourced just 37% of their sawn softwood needs from the
domestic market so, post Brexit they will still need to
import our timber products.

Produced by De Paor Consultancy on behalf of Irish Farmers Monthly
www.irishfarmersmonthly.com
The De Paor Consultancy has the experience and contacts to help clients optimise the marketing of products and services, to enhance
corporate communications, improve their corporate image or to recruit suitably qualified and experienced agribusiness personnel.
To date we have done work for Irish and multinational clients in the following sectors:
agri-food business, animal health, feed, equipment and machinery, charities, breed societies, construction and property, commercial
publications and consultancy firms, IT, public service, professional and trade associations.

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