Agri review'19 digital

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REVIEW OF THE AGRI-FOOD
INDUSTRY IN 2018/9
PUBLISHING
COMPANY
OF THE YEAR
2016

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The land area of the Republic of Ireland (ROI) is 6.9m
hectares (ha), of which 4.4m ha is used for agriculture
and a further 0.73m ha for forestry. Eighty per cent of
agricultural area is devoted to pasture, hay and grass
silage (3.6m ha), 12% to rough grazing and 8% to crops
(including cereals, fruit and horticulture production).
According to an Irish Farmers Journal survey the average
land price in Ireland in 2017 was estimated to be €9,088/
acre, up 3.6% on 2016. The average farm size was 32.5
ha with 139,600 farm holdings. Only 5.9% of farmers were
under 35 years of age while 52.7% were over 55.
The agri-food and drink sector accounted for 10.3 %
of exports, 173,400 jobs and 8.6% of total employment
(DAFM, 2016). Between 2009-2016 agri food exports
increased by a whopping 56% from €7.8bn to
€12.2bn.
INTRODUCTION
REVIEW OF THE AGRI-FOOD INDUSTRY IN 2018/19

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Food Exports Still Growing
The Irish food and drink sector recorded its eighth
consecutive year of export growth in 2017. It is estimated
that the value of food and drink exports increased by
13%, (€1.5bn) to €12.6bn – a growth of almost 60% or
€4.7bn since 2010.
The strongest performers in terms of exports in 2017
were the dairy sector, which comprises a third of the
total; followed by seafood, pigmeat, sheep meat and
live animals. Other sectors with good growth prospects
included beverages and pigmeat.
Exports to Britain rose by an estimated 7% to some
€4.4bn, despite the weakness of sterling. However, the
market share for exports to the UK is now estimated at
35% – down two points on last year.
Exports to other EU countries increased to over €4bn.
This performance was mainly driven by strong dairy
exports, which rose by over 40% to €1.2bn, as well as
enhanced growth for seafood and pigmeat sales and a
strong presence for beverages and prepared foods.
Shipments of Irish food and drink to international
markets grew by 17% to €4bn underpinned by increases
in sales of dairy, beverages and prepared foods.
Expansion was recorded in the Middle East, Asia and
Africa, where it grew by almost 30% to over €600m, and
the United States which exceeded €1bn for the first time.
Over the last six years, the value of Irish dairy exports
has increased by 11%, the value of our beef exports by
almost 50%, cereals and cereal preparations by 59%,
seafood and seafood exports by 50%, forestry exports
doubled from €112m to €226m and sheep meat exports
increased by 70%.
A report from Bord Bia, Prioritising Markets:
Opportunities for Growth, details the increasing
importance of other markets for food and drink
exporters, noting that China is the second biggest
market for Irish dairy while the USA takes almost 45% of
Irish whiskey exports.
Priority markets for meat producers
include China, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico,
the United Arab Emirates (UAE), South
Korea, Iran, Australia, Chile, Malaysia, New
Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, Hong
Kong and Thailand.
The priority dairy markets include Nigeria, Saudi
Arabia, Algeria, China, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Mexico, Philippines, South Korea, the UAE and the USA.
Improved Farm Machinery Sales
Despite the impact of bad weather earlier in the year and
a drought during the summer – all of which impacted
heavily on farming costs plus reduced milk prices –
tractor sales have done extremely well with new tractor
sales for October year to date up by 231 units or 12.8%,
according to the latest Revenue Commissioners data for
tractor registrations.
So, it was a great year for farm machinery dealers
bearing in the mind that tractor HP is also increasing.
Obviously, there has been a knock-on effect on the
registrations of used tractors. The leading used tractor
brands imported were New Holland (33% of imports)
followed by Massey Ferguson & John Deere. New
Holland tractor imports were twice as popular as the
Massey Fergusons.
Year
New
Tractors
%
Used
Tractors
%
October 2018 111 +13.3 182 -16.9
October 2017 98 219
October 2018 ytd 2,031 +12.8 2,158 -7.7
October 2017 ytd 1,800 2,339
According to the FTMTA, 89% of all new tractors
(registered so far during 2018) have in excess of 100
horse power (hp). Fifty-four per cent of new tractors

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have over 120hp. Interestingly, 27% have over 150hp. The
top three counties for tractor sales are Cork, Tipperary
and Wexford.
Telehandler registrations, for October year to date,
indicate that demand for these machines is at a strong
level. Indeed, telehandler registrations for the first 10
months of 2018 is 358 units a year-on-year increase of
28%.
Backhoe loader sales have also increased in recent
years. From a low of 40 new units in 2015, 52 backhoes
were registered in 2017 and 69 have been registered so
far for October 2018 to date. Wheeled loaders have also
sold well with 106 new units registered to the end of
October, versus 85 during all of 2017.
The Grass & Muck event runs every second year and
alternates with the FTMTA’s Farm Machinery Show – in
Punchestown, close to Naas, Co. Kildare.
This year, the Grass & Muck attracted close to 11,900
people, this is 500 more than the previous show in
2016. While it had numerous static exhibits, the focus
at FTMTA Grass & Muck was on working machinery
with demos throughout the day on the grass harvesting,
reseeding, silage pit, slurry spreading and farm yard
manure spreading.
Forage Stocks are Tight
As we all know a late spring cleaned out available silage
stocks and grass growth was very poor earlier in the
year due to cold weather and a summer drought. Many
farmers had to graze their silage fields and feed first cut
silage to hungry stock.
However, during September and October most livestock
farmers have been able to make bales of grass silage
under ideal conditions as grass growth had been
excellent for the previous six weeks.
According to the trade during this period they sold
as much balewrap as they did during a normal July
and August. The weather earlier in the year was also
exceptionally dry so baled silage on a dry matter (DM)
basis ranged from 30 to 35% compared with 25% for an
average year.
In a normal year, around 16m bales of grass silage is
made so taking into account the higher DM bales made
earlier in the season the available silage on a DM basis
must now be close to 2017 levels. Indeed, a recent
Teagasc survey indicates that the forage deficit is now
only 1% and we have been blessed with a late winter so
far.
A large quality of excellent hay has also been made
and the price of straw in Britain has fallen so this is all
good news for livestock farmers. We can expect to see
significant quantities of straw imported from Britain for
use in TMR feeding systems as one tonne of straw will
replace one tonne of silage.
Forage brassicas have been sown by many livestock
and tillage farmers this year to increase feed availability
thereby helping to stretch existing silage stocks and
reducing the requirement for bought-in feeds.
A total of 1,701 applications were made to the Dept.
of Agriculture under the Fodder Production Incentive
Measure. The scheme was introduced in August to
encourage tillage farmers to sow forage crops on their

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land so as to reduce the feed deficit in the country.
A total of 6,000ha of grasses have been sown – including
Westerwold ryegrass and Italian ryegrass. A total
of 19,400 ha were planted under the incentive and the
average area sown was 10.46ha.
595 farmers opted to sow grass crops, while 1,255
farmers planted brassica crops – some sowed both. Co.
Cork saw the largest area of grasses planted at 1,191ha.
Kilkenny & Wexford had 723 ha and 715 ha planted
respectively.
Over the last two months Dairygold Coop have also
imported 5,000 tonnes alfalfa from Italy with 60% of this
delivered to farms. Other major coops may do likewise
so this will certainly be a big help to milk suppliers with a
forage deficits.
Better Times for Cereal Growers in 2019
The overall production of cereals for 2018 is estimated to
be approx. 1.8m tonnes, down from 2.3m tonnes in 2017,
according to Teagasc data.
This 500,000 tonne reduction from 2017 is significantly
below the five-year rolling average of 2.3m tonnes. It is
the smallest recorded harvest since 1995. The area of
cereals reduced by 4.9% in 2018 to 258,000 hectares
from 271,700 hectares in 2017.
Yields of all cereals were below average as late planting
of spring crops and a summer drought had a significant
impact on yields. However, weather conditions were
excellent for harvesting so drying costs were minimal.
Straw prices were excellent due to reduced supplies and
a strong demand from livestock farmers short of forage.
Indeed in many areas the straw price had increased by
50-100%.
The area of spring barley planted increased by 11% in 2018
to 126,169 ha. Nationally, spring barley recorded average
yields of 5.6 t/ha (2.5 –e 9.0 t/ha). This is below the five-
year average of 7.2 t/ha and the lowest since 2002. The
area of winter barley fell by 12% in 2018 to 57,175 ha.
The area of winter wheat fell by 11% in 2018 to 53,902ha.
This was as a result of the poor planting conditions in the
autumn of 2017. However, excellent weather conditions
this autumn has led to bumper winter plantings.
Yields of winter wheat were below average at approx.
8.9 t/ha, this is below the five-year rolling average of
10.06 t/ha. The spring wheat area fell by 48% or 3,300
ha in 2018, to 3,500 ha due to the very poor planting
conditions last March.
The winter oat area fell significantly to 10,100 ha, down
30% from 2017. Average yields were well below 2017
levels at 7.8 t/ha which is below the five-year average of
8.62 t/ha. The spring oats area fell significantly to 7,500
ha in 2018 a decrease of 25% on 2017 due to poor soil
conditions last March.
The area of winter oilseed rape increased from 7,765 to
8,882 ha in 2018 an increase of 14%. Crops yields averaged
around 4.2 t/ha while the spring rape area was 1,634 ha.
Spring oilseed rape crops yielded 2.5 t/ha.
Teagasc estimates that the winter cereal area for
this season (2018/2019) has increased by 27,800ha a
substantial increase of 23% on the previous year.
After the poor performance of spring crops last season,
growers were keen to sow winter crops. According to
Teagasc estimates 75,000 ha of winter barley have been
sown this season, up from 57,200 ha last year or an
increase of 31%.
The actual figure could be higher as the seed trade
estimate plantings at 77,000 ha. The winter wheat area

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increased by an estimated 8,100 ha; from 53,900 ha to
62,000 ha or a 15% increase. The planting of winter oats
area was curtailed by a shortage of seed, however it still
increased by 1,900 ha to 12,000 ha.
There is a lot of interest in resurrecting the beet industry
and meetings held around the country have attracted
large audiences. Beet Ireland explained that it is looking
for 1,000 growers to invest €1,000 in a grower’s co-op.
The €1 million would then be matched by Beet Ireland in
the form of the site for the beet plant.
That €2 million will be used in the planning process and
growers would then be asked to invest another sum
of money – the amount would be dependent on other
funding that is secured. If secured, those 1,000 growers
will need to produce 1.4m tonnes of beet per year. This
equates to approximately 50 acres per grower.
210,000 tonnes of sugar and 19m litres of bio-ethanol
would be produced from this amount of beet. A new
beet industry would generate a big increase in new farm
machinery sales and of course beet pulp would become
a popular ingredient in compound feeds.
Due to the severe grass and forage shortage this year,
arising from the summer drought, we can expect to see
many more dairy farmers – in particular those with mixer
wagons doing contracts with tillage farmers to grow
fodder beet, forage maize, barley etc. These contracts
will supplement their grass growing capacity and reduce
dependence on compound feed.
Dairy Industry Continues to Expand
The October milk supply in Ireland was up by over 20%
for the month of October, compared with the same
period last year. Due to the recovery since August, it
appears that milk production this year will certainly be
on par with 2017, despite the drop in production during
the spring and summer.
The extra income from this higher than expected
production will be a welcome bonus to dairy farmers
who had much higher feed costs this year. Milk prices for
2018 were also better than expected much to the relief of
the feed trade and their farmer customers.
Glanbia was the first processor to announce its milk
price for October supplies and it will hold its price and
pay milk suppliers 32c/L including VAT for manufacturing
milk at 3.6% butterfat and 3.3% protein. Arrabawn,
Dairygold, Kerry & Lakeland have also held their prices.
Unfortunately, both Aurivo Coop and LacPatrick have
dropped their price to 31c/L including VAT.
A Teagasc ‘People in Dairy Project Report’ identified
the need for 6,000 people to enter dairy farming over
the next nine years. This is made up of 2,000 new
employment opportunities and 4,000 people to replace
retiring dairy farmers.
The number of farmers milking cows has dropped by
5,400 since 2005. Most of these were milking smaller
herds and were largely self-sufficient labour wise.
However, the number of cows has increased in the same
period by 40% to 1.4m.
It is very significant that the number of farmers milking
herds greater than 100 cows has gone up from 1,080
in 2005 to 4,262 in 2016. That is an increase of 3,180
farmers milking over 100 cows, many of whom will need
additional labour.
FRS Networks has over 1,500 operators working on farms
and this increases in the spring to around 1,800. With the
upturn in the economy FRS have had to think of other
initiatives to attract suitable people, e.g. New Zealand
Exchange programme which is ideal because the busy
season in both countries is at opposite ends of the year.
However, milk price prospects for 2019 are gloomy at
present. Data from the New Zealand (NZ) dairy industry
showed October milk production at 3.2bn litres, which is
a 6% rise on the same month last year.
October is the month of peak milk production in NZ
and equivalent to May milk collections here. NZ milk
collections in the first five months of the season (June to
October) were up 5.8% on last year at 7.6bn litres.
This means that NZ has an extra 415m litres of milk to
market compared with last year.
The GDT (Gobal Dairy Trade) has also just completed its
latest auction and dairy commodity prices have fallen by
another 3.5%. Unfortunately, this is the eleventh decline
in the GDT dairy index over the last 12 auctions and
prices are at their weakest in over two years.

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Speaking at Dairy Day, John Lancaster of FC Stone
said that Irish milk prices for next year are likely to be
between 28c/l and 30c/l. However, on a more positive
note, EU intervention skim milk powder (SMP) stocks
have declined by over 50% so SMP prices should
bounce back in due course. The expectation is that these
EU intervention stocks will be cleared by next May.
John Lancaster predicted that global milk production
was to continue rising, driven primarily by the EU and
the USA. However, the demand was continuing to rise,
driven by China. On a positive note, dairy cow numbers
in the USA are falling. Dutch dairy farmers also continue
to cull cow due to new phosphate quotas introduced this
year. Milk production in Holland a major milk producer
was down almost 6% year for October year to date.
Teagasc Advisory, Education & Research
Programme
A series of nationwide forestry advisory clinics was held
during in 2017, with over 900 attendees. These clinics
provided one-to-one support to landowners considering
afforestation as well as advice on best forest management
for existing forest owners.
According to Teagasc the pig industry is experiencing a
price-cost squeeze, with pigmeat price low and feed cost
high. This is responsible for the negative profitability being
experienced. At a recent conference pig producers were
told that addressing many factors can help reduce feed
cost per kg gain (reduced feed wastage, improving feed
efficiency, feed budgeting etc)
When it comes to formulating diets for grow-finisher pigs
producers need to know the growth rate and the intake
of pigs over specific periods. Having this information
facilitates the formulation of bespoke diets which will
optimise growth and feed efficiency, leading to reduced
feed costs.
The new facilities at Teagasc, Ashtown include a new
1,700m2
glasshouse, a mushroom research facility,
polytunnels and a utility building. These facilities will be
used to deliver EU, DAFM, Teagasc and Industry funded
research.
Meat Technology Ireland (MTI) is an €8.1m five-year
research and innovation programme, developed by
industry and co-funded by Enterprise Ireland and a
consortium of nine beef and sheep meat processing
companies.
MTI is hosted by Teagasc at its Ashtown Food Research
Facility in Dublin involving collaboration with
the Dublin Institute of
Technology (DIT),
Dublin City
University
(DCU),
University
College
Cork (UCC)
and the
Irish Cattle
Breeders
Federation (ICBF).
Teagasc will also receive €8.8m of
funding for a new Food Innovation Hub based
at Moorepark. The primary objective of the National
Food Innovation Hub is to create a business innovation
network involving dairy companies and public-private
partnership R&D programmes with a research focus on
food processing, quality and nutrition.
Facility in Dublin involving collaboration with
the Dublin Institute of
Technology (DIT),
Dublin City
Cork (UCC)

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Teagasc Knowledge Transfer Advisory Activities and
Outputs for 2017
Teagasc provides a GLAS service to 15,000 clients
through a service agreement with FRS Networks. 13,500
Teagasc clients continue to participate in the GLAS
scheme. Nutrient management plans were completed
and submitted to DAFM for 11,200 clients in 2017.
An analysis of over 1,000 participants in the Teagasc
Options programme analysed by Dr. Mary Ryan revealed
that the areas of most potential include tourism, artisan
food, business start-ups, organics and improving
financial management skills.
The Knowledge Transfer Programme has funding of
€100m allocated across the dairy, beef, equine, forestry,
sheep, tillage and poultry sectors. Almost 20,000 farmers
in 1200 KT groups have attended meetings and approved
events.
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 Ag colleges are in Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan;
Clonakilty, Co. Cork; Kildalton, Co. Kilkenny; and at
the Botanic Gardens in Dublin. The education dept
of Teagasc also partners with Gurteen, Co. Tipperary;
Pallaskenry, Co. Limerick; and Mountbellew, Co. Galway
private colleges. These colleges offer a range of Level
5/6 courses in agriculture, machinery and equine.
There are 15 institutions in the Republic offering a range
of agri and related third level courses. These include
four Universities (NUI Galway, NUI Maynooth, UCC
& UCD) and ten Institutes of Technology (Athlone,
Blanchardstown, Carlow, Cork, Dundalk, GMIT,
Letterkenny, Sligo, Tralee and Waterford). So, there are
now a record number of agri graduates on the market.
Using E-Learning, Teagasc Distance Education (DE) is
now delivered by six agricultural colleges, and education
centres in each of the 12 Teagasc advisory regions. The
intake has doubled in the past four years, assisted by
the introduction of various Department of Agriculture,
Food and the Marine (DAFM) schemes aimed at young
farmers and the expansion of the Irish dairy herd.
Some 1,400 students are now enrolled with Teagasc
on DE programmes. Students who have off-farm jobs,
and who cannot attend class full-time, are delighted to
discover that DE offers a better work-life balance.
No of
Advisers
Dairy Drystock Tillage Agri
Environment
Total
84 116 14 23 237
Farm
Clients
11,683 23,866 2,267 5,636 43,452
Farm Visits 6,911 5,482 1,055 8,838 14,409
Farmers
in groups
4,542 5,922 627 717 11,808
Profit
Monitors
4,144 4,513 478 612 9,747
KT
Improvement
Plans
2,031 3,110 387 199 5,727
No. of
Better/
Monitor
Farms
49 48 3 0 100
No. of
meetings/
seminars
165 149 25 24 363
No. of farm
walks/
Demos
227 84 27 11 349

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Better Prospects For Poultry
The poultry industry in the Republic can be divided
into meat and egg production sectors. In each sector
production can be either highly intensive e.g. battery
cage eggs, free range or organic. For each of these
enterprises there is a corresponding breeding business
with foundation breeding stock imported.
Seventy million chickens are produced annually, 4m
turkeys and eggs from 2m hens. The industry is seriously
affected by cheap imports from third countries. The fast
food industry here is supplied mainly by imports. Teagasc
has recently appointed their first poultry advisor who will
be based in Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan.
The poultry industry in Ireland is set to process over
100m chickens for the first time this is an increase of 4m
on 2017. There are now almost 2m chickens processed
in Ireland each week. In total, we exported €275m worth
of poultry meat last year; 80% of which went to the UK.
The average Irish person eats 36kg of poultry a year
making it the most popular meat in the country.
The overall value of Irish exports during 2017 have
increased by around 3% for the year to €295 million.
During the same period Irish imports fell by 7% reflecting
increased preference for Irish product in the foodservice
channel. Eighty per cent of Irish poultry exports to go to
the UK.
The share of Irish poultry exports going to other EU
markets has increased to 10%, with France as the most
important market. The Scandinavian markets were the
fastest growing and Spain is a consistent importer.
Other International markets account for 11% of exports,
with South Africa – against the overall EU trend – the
strongest performer, with 9% market share overall.
In the ROI the poultry sector supports around 6,000 jobs
and there are some 370 producers involved in poultry
production. There are almost 240 producers involved
in egg production and over 3.3m laying hens. The retail
sales of eggs in Ireland are valued at €100m.
There are 14 feed millers and premix suppliers approved
by Bord Bia. Manor Farm, the largest chicken processor
is now owned by a Swedish multinational. Manor
Farm has approximately 130 growers and 43 farmers
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 Not Doing Well
The total number of pigs in the Republic of Ireland
in June 2018 was about 1,621,900. This represents an
increase of 4.2% since June 2017. Pig production is the
third largest economic contributor to Gross Agricultural
Output (GAO) in Ireland, after milk and beef. It accounts
for around 6% of Gross Agricultural Output.
Ireland’s percentage of the EU price has improved and
is currently 102% of the EU average price as reported by
the IFA for the first week of November 2018.
Feed costs now make up to €1.20c/kg cost of producing
pigmeat in Ireland, with the average price received just 22c/
kg above feed cost. It is clear that without a major uplift in
pig price, the Irish pig production sector is in difficulty.
Sluggish meat markets, pork in particular, are blamed for
this last price drop. Incidentally 7,000 Republic of Ireland
pigs head north to Karro’s pig factory in Cookstown,
Co. Tyrone, every week. This strong trade with Northern
Ireland underpins factory prices in the Republic. It will
be interesting to see what impact Brexit will have on this
cross border trade.
Pig farmers’ hopes of a pig price increase improved with
the impact of African Swine Flu across Asian markets.
Industry sources report increasing demand for pigmeat
for the Chinese market, coupled with increased prices for
many cuts.
Northern Ireland’s final approval to export pork to China
could be worth in excess of £10m (€11m) to the local agri-
food industry. In Northern Ireland, two slaughterhouses
and two cold stores have now been given the green light to
export pork.
Some good news for Irish pig producers is that a Bord
Bia campaign over the next three years will target the
Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam, and will cost €3.9m,
most of which will come from the EU Commission.
The Bord Bia trade mission to Malaysia succeeded in
securing a veterinary health certificate for the export of
pigmeat. Indeed, Malaysia is one of the top five meat

11
markets targeted by Bord Bia. The biggest importer of
pig meat is China followed by Japan and Mexico.
The rising Chinese income levels has generated a rapid
increase in pig meat 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)
most in rural areas and small towns.
Commercial pig production is carried out in under 500
pig units which produce about 98% of our production.
Typically, units are large and specialised with skilled
staff who utilise the latest technology.
Excellent Prospects for Renewable Energy
In 2019, the Dept of Communication, Climate Action and
Environment will invest over €164m to achieve Ireland’s
energy efficiency and renewable energy objectives. These
funds are allocated to improve the energy efficiency of
buildings, renewable energy incentives and electric cars.
The Support Scheme for Renewable Heat is currently
available for heat pumps and is due to open to biomass
boilers in early 2019. The EU will contribute €6.5m to
the €25m roll-out of a network of compressed gas filling
stations. Fourteen stations are planned by 2020, with
further plans to develop a nationwide causeway of 70
delivery points.
Biomethane will, in coming years, be generated at
hundreds of sites around the country through the use of
anaerobic digesters (ADs) and injected into the national
gas grid.
Ireland is uniquely well-positioned to exploit this green
gas. Farmers and the food industry in particular are set
to play a key role in turning energy from waste, such as
pig slurry, into heating. This process could certainly help
us to meet our EU targets for renewable energy and
help us avoid a potential fine of €360m pa.
Currently, there are fewer than a dozen anaerobic digesters
(AD) in Ireland, but Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) says it is a
proven technology and a low-risk investment.
It is estimated Ireland has potential for 900 AD facilities.
GNI, which owns and operates the natural gas network,
plans to facilitate 350 farm-scale ADs by 2030, which
would deliver 21% of our renewable gas target – a key
element of commitments to reduce carbon emissions.
With farm wastes growing and dairying undergoing
major expansion, the supply of feedstock is plentiful –
in the form of slurries, grass, forage maize and a small
amount of energy crops, provided they do not impact on
food production.
If Ireland maximises waste and agricultural inputs
available, the biomethane produced would be equivalent
to 28% of natural gas usage today – enough to provide
100% of the gas requirements of 1m residential homes
on the grid or close to it.

12
Northern Ireland Agri Census
The main changes between June 2017 and June 2018 are
as follows:
The area of cereals grown decreased by 3% to 31,300
ha with winter wheat, winter barley and oats all down,
mainly as a result of poor planting conditions in autumn
2017. The area of spring barley increased by 8% from
2017 and is the most popular cereal crop grown with
15,100 ha planted across Northern Ireland.
The area in other field crops is unchanged from 2017
however the area of potatoes fell by 9% to 3,700 ha,
returning to the same area planted in 2016. The areas of
arable crop silage and forage maize both increased by
11% to 4,000 ha and 1,500 respectively.
Total cattle numbers have fallen by 2% from June 2017 to
1.63 million head. The number of beef cows decreased by
4% to 255,900 head with dairy cows decreasing by 2%
to 310,700 head. The reduction in cow numbers reflects
increased culling during the long winter of 2017 when
fodder was in short supply.
There was a 1% fall in the number of breeding ewes
compared with 2017 with numbers falling to 962,600
head. Until this year’s decrease, ewe numbers had
increased over the previous three years. Lamb numbers
have fallen by 2% compared with a year ago, which
corresponds with the decrease in ewe numbers. Overall,
the total number of sheep recorded was approximately
2m, which is also a 2% decrease from June 2017.
In comparison with 2017, sow numbers increased by 1%
to 41,300, whereas, the overall pig herd was 2% smaller.
The number of fattening pigs fell by 2% which has the
most impact on total pig numbers.
Poultry laying birds recorded for June 2018 increased by
5% to 4.2m birds while broiler poultry numbers increased
by 2% to reach 17m. The laying bird population has
shown strong growth since 2013, which is due to both
the expansion of existing flocks and new producers
entering the industry.
Impact of Brexit on Agribusiness
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.
However, Brexit will have a severe impact on the beef
industry. Around 50% of all our beef exports in 2017
went to the UK, 40% went to the rest of Europe and
approximately 10% to non-EU markets. According to UK
trade statistics, Irish beef exports to the UK rose by 7%
or 5,000 tonnes for May year to date, so our beef industry
is very dependent on the British market.
The most benign Brexit outcome for the Irish agri-food sector
is one in which the UK leaves the EU but chooses to remain
part of the Single Market and the EU Customs Union.
It seems a soft Brexit can be secured if Prime Minister
Theresa May can get it through the House of Commons.
However, this will be difficult unless the British business
establishment brings political pressure to bear on
Conservatives MPs in particular.
The loss (or diminution) of preferential market access to
the UK as a result of Brexit will have a negative impact
on Irish exports to the UK. The value per tonne of agri-
food exports to other EU markets is also likely to decline
as commodities previously exported to the UK are
diverted to EU27 markets and depress prices in these
markets.
Teagasc analysis has shown that the impact of Brexit
on Irish family farm incomes could be significant and
negative. The magnitude of the impact on Irish farm
incomes varies by farm system and also, within, farm
systems.
Tough Year for Cattle Industry
The live export trade to Spain has been strong during
2018, with total numbers for the year to date recorded at
87,954, almost twice the level for 2017.
There was higher calf exports right throughout the year
and strong exports of weanlings since mid-August.
Exports of calves have been a mixture of Friesian, Angus
and Herefords, while exports of weanlings have also
included some continental-cross bulls.
According to Bord Bia, Irish live exports for this year are
running at 212,828 head. This increase is mainly due to
the number of dairy calves exported to Spain and the

13
Netherlands. The number of bulls exported to Libya in
2018 was 4,489 head so it’s good to see this market has
re-opened despite the political chaos in that country.
Since the beginning of 2018, finished cattle prices have
been slightly ahead of last year’s levels, averaging €3.91
per kg deadweight, excluding VAT, for R3 steers. This
improvement mainly reflects the higher prices paid
during the spring and early summer. However, over
recent weeks Irish cattle prices have fallen below the
equivalent period in 2017.
For the first 11 months of 2018 over 1.63 million cattle
have been slaughtered in Ireland, official data shows.
Compared to 2017, that is an increase of 56,099 head or
3.56%. This is a happy position for the factories however
livestock farmers feel that the increased numbers has
put pressure on finished cattle prices.
Some 615,035 steers and 438,129 heifers were
slaughtered in approved beef export plants this year. In
addition, some 362,067 cows have been processed this
year – an increase of 22,563 head on 2017.
There is speculation in farming circles that the depressed
price of beef and cattle now is due to the Brexit process
and its deadlines. Beef farmers in Ireland regularly point
out that factories pay significantly more for cattle in
Britain although their cattle are going to the same beef
market.
Official figures showed that there was a significant fall in
suckler cow numbers from June to December of 2017, as
the total number of suckler cows at 864,517 was down in
June 2017 by almost 140,000 cows or a 14% decline in six
months. There is no doubt that sucker farming is a low
margin business so we can expect to see more of these
farmers exiting this sector.
According to the Livestock & Meat Commission (LMC)
– during the week ending July 15 – R3 heifer prices in
the Republic of Ireland were 19.2c/kg behind what R3
heifers made in Britain and were on a par with the price
achieved in Northern Ireland.
For example, for the week ending July 15, a 300kg heifer
carcass slaughtered in Britain made €126 per head,
more than heifers in the Republic of Ireland. So as one
would expect relations between the factories and cattle
producers are not good indeed.
Best Year Ever for the Feed Trade
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 good milk
prices.
This year in particular due to the late spring, difficult
grazing conditions and a summer drought livestock
farmers had to purchase extra compound feeds. Dairy
farmers in a particular increased their usage by almost
40 % while sheep farmers purchased over 32% more
feed.
Fortunately for dairy farmers, milk prices held up so they
could afford to purchase these concentrates and the
national milk production output did not drop as originally
predicted.
Major feed mills such as those operated by Aurivo Coop,
Dairygold Coop, Glanbia and Lakeland Dairies are all
manufacturing over 250, 000 tonnes pa as are several
of the private feed millers such as AW Ennis, Kiernan
Milling, Southern Milling etc.
We can expect to see a major investment now in extra
feed milling capacity as many of these feed mills
are struggling to meet the increasing demand from
their farmer customers. Fortunately for these feed
compounders, farmers are a good credit risk. However,
purchasing raw materials where commodity prices are
volatile and currencies fluctuate widely is a challenging
task. A huge investment is also required between the
purchases of raw materials to financing the credit
required at farm level.
Better Prospects for Irish Lamb Producers
Prime lamb production is an important sector within the
Irish agricultural industry. The Republic of Ireland is the
fourth largest sheep meat exporter worldwide and is the
largest net exporter of sheep meat in the EU.
New Zealand lamb producers are experiencing a 10-year
high lamb price for new season lamb this October. This is
the highest price paid in the past 10 years. This is due to
tighter supply from both Australia and New Zealand and
a growing global demand is also helping underpin lamb
prices.

14
New Zealand’s lamb exports is forecast to fall by 1.7%
in 2018/19 due to lower ewe numbers. French sheep
numbers, too, fell by 3.9% last year. France has the sixth
largest sheep flock in the EU and is Ireland’s top export
market for lamb so this is all good news for Irish lamb
producers.
Advance payments under year two of the Sheep
Welfare Scheme have commenced during November to
all eligible farmers. A total of €15.1m has been issued to
18,600 farmers, providing a significant financial boost
to the sector. The scheme is co-funded by the EU as
part of Ireland’s Rural Development Programme, 2014-
2020.
The volume and value of Irish sheep meat exports
grew by 14% and 12% respectively in 2017, according to
Bord Bia. Some 57,000 tonnes of Irish sheep meat was
exported last year and in 2017, sheep meat exports were
up by 12% to €274m. Market diversification has continued
as 45% of our exports are now going outside the UK and
France.
Official figures show that just over 2.3m sheep have
been processed in Irish plants between January and mid
October. When compared to the corresponding period in
2017, that’s an increase of 3% or 57,392 head.
Irish sheep meat exports for the first half of 2018 have had a
4% increase in value. For the period January to June, a total of
€149m or 24,204 tonnes were exported.
Notwithstanding the higher input costs which were
incurred due to the spring and summer extremes, farm
gate prices have been good.
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.
Preliminary CSO estimates for June 2018 show that
the total number of sheep was 5,105,500 a decrease of
91,600 (-1.8%) on June 2017. The number of non-breeding
sheep decreased by 75,000 (-2.9%) and breeding sheep
decreased by 16,600 (-0.6%).
Excellent Long Term Prospects for Forestry
Due to the likely impact of Brexit on cattle prices, an
aging farming population and the attractive grants for
forestry we can expect to see more livestock farmers
switching more of their marginal land to forestry in the
future.
Recent Teagasc economic analysis confirms that on
marginal land, cattle and sheep farmers stand to gain
between €100 and €330 per hectare on average for
each year of the forest rotation.
The total value of Irish forestry and forestry products to
the economy is €2.3 billion, supporting almost 12,000
jobs in rural Ireland while playing a pivotal role in climate
change mitigation. For every 100 jobs in the forestry
sector an extra 90 full-time equivalent jobs are provided
in other sectors such as tourism.
For example, annual visitor numbers to Irish forests are
in excess of 18 million so forestry is very important for
our tourist industry.
We need to plant more trees, however the Government
tree-planting targets for 2015 to date have all been
missed. Currently, only about 11% of land here is under
forest compared to an EU average of over 40%.
Forests play an important role in helping fight climate
change – Ireland’s forests and wood products removed
4.3m tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in
2015, for example. The Government believes more tree-
planting will also go some way to help Ireland meet its
2030 emissions reduction target, which it is on course to
miss.
The planting of conifers was increasing up to 2017, at
which point planting fell 22% short of its overall target.
Total afforestation figures for the years 2015 – 2017 show
that overall planting is 7% less than the target for these
years.
The Government underspent its budget for its
afforestation scheme from 2015 to date, with an
underspend of some €22m during the first three years of
the programme. This underspend is being put down to
the lower than expected demand from landowners. The
allocation for 2018 is €106m.
The Government said it will now pay premium
rates to make the planting of certain forms of trees
more “attractive to farmers”. The most significant
improvements in grant and premium are aimed at those

15
planting agroforestry and forestry for fibre.
Agroforestry will allow farmers to plant trees while
continuing to graze their animals on the same land.
This land use system would be suitable for producing
wood fuel or, where appropriate, high quality hardwood
timber. The Forestry for Fibre scheme aims to boost the
production of renewable energy for either domestic or
local commercial use.
While more traditional forestry has a rotation of
approximately 35 to 40 years, the species planted under the
Forestry for Fibre scheme have a rotation of up to 15 years.
A payment of €510 per hectare is available each year up to
the time the plantation is felled.
The payment made in tax-free forest premium paid
to date in 2018 was €56.8m in respect of 16,390
applications. There are now almost 22,000 farmers in
the Republic with commercial forestry enterprises and
long term prospects are excellent for fuel, timber etc.
Indeed, the potential market would require us to plant
15,000 ha pa.
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 6 million m3
by the mid-
2020s and increase further still to 7.8 million m3
by the
mid-2030s
Ireland exports 80% of its timber products – sawn,
timber and panel board and most of this goes to Britain.
Ireland is the second largest exporter of OSB and
particleboard to the UK behind Germany while it was the
largest exporter of MDF to the UK.
Over 600,000 Christmas trees will be harvested by 80
Irish growers for Christmas 2018 while 200,000 of these
will be exported to markets in Britain, Germany and
France. The Christmas tree industry is estimated to be
worth €21m annually to the economy.
Bonanza for Irish Potato Growers
The total area of potatoes including seed and earlies
has decreased again in 2018 by 1,000 hectares to
8,175 hectares this equates to a 6% reduction in area
compared to 2017.
Due to the drought last summer the EU potato harvest
has fallen by 10-million-tonnes leading to a surge in
Irish spud prices as there will be no cheap imports from
Britain to undermine Irish prices.
The drought has impacted severely on crop yields by as
much as 30% and growers had the extra cost of crop
irrigation. However, blight levels were very low as a
consequence of the dry weather. The much higher prices
will more than compensate for any yield losses.
The shortage of supplies across the EU has been
reflected in a sharp increase in local prices, which have
increased to €450-500/t for main-crop varieties. This
represents almost a doubling in price compared to 2017,
when supplies generally made €220-280/t.
Irish growers supplied 400,000 tonnes to the market in
2017, however harvest for 2018 is expected to be around
280,000 tonnes.

Compiled by De Paor Consultancy on behalf of Irish Farmers Monthly
W: www.depaor.ie E: liam@depaor.ie

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