Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. The two presentations we heard cover a broad spectrum of activity which probably covers all livestock. The delegates from Macra na Feirme mainly focused on dairying, which, for reasons that are easy to understand, has been quite attractive to younger farmers in recent years. I listened with interest to a recent media interview with a former IFA chairman who has switched from beef to dairy farming in more recent times. People probably know who I am talking about without having to name him. He spoke in the interview about where the dairy sector is at and the difficulties being experienced by farmers. He also made the point, however, that difficult as this year has been, he will be in a far better position at year end than he was in the years he was involved in beef farming. There seems be no getting away from the truth of that. As Mr. Kent noted at the beginning of his contribution, beef farmers are used to ongoing volatility.

There was a particular emphasis on education in the Macra na Feirme presentation. Speaking as a farmer, one has to wonder whether we have learned anything from the beef crisis of last year or the year before. I had the opportunity last weekend to attend my local mart where I saw farmers buying weanlings at exorbitant prices. It was a happy day for sellers, but buyers must be wondering how they will make money on their purchases in a year's time or whenever.

On the previous day, the trade was good at the ordinary sales. Again, one would have to wonder if one was buying stores, how one would make money next spring. This is repetitive. Have we learned anything? Even though the price dropped three years ago for bulls, in particular, farmers were paid huge amounts for stores the previous fall. That expectation must be managed. High prices can be paid for stores in the fall but one never knows what will happen three or four months down the line and we must plan for such volatility. The same applies in the mixed sector to a certain extent.

There is plenty of evidence from New Zealand, Northern Ireland and elsewhere around the world of the difficulties dairy farmers have experienced over the past few years. They have not concentrated enough on producing as much as possible in Northern Ireland using the cheapest product they have, which is grass. That is the only way forward.

The same applies to the beef sector. The cheapest produce in this country is grass and, this year, we are fortunate to have a good supply. We want to achieve as much value out of that as possible and education is the crucial element. Knowledge transfer has been very beneficial over the past few years and many good ideas have been exchanged in that regard.

There is no doubt more young farmers need to be encouraged into the system be it in dairying, sheep or beef. The sheep sector is more challenging. It is not as attractive to younger farmers and while I may be open to correction on that, this is what I am hearing on the ground. An incentive needs to be provided in this sector. The ICSA presentation referred to the provision of a €25 million subsidy for sheep, which I would like to tease out. Is the association proposing that this would come from unspent rural development funding or would it be additional money that would have to be sourced? Is the association assuming rural development funding will be under-spent? Would Ireland have to get permission for another scheme if that was the case? Would the Minister have to go cap-in-hand to Europe again seeking permission for another scheme for sheep alone or could we devise a scheme of our own for the unspent money?

There has been a good deal of discussion about feedlots. A total of 25% of beef is produced through the feedlots at the moment. I may be open to correction on that but I saw that figure somewhere in the past. Many farmers have gone down that road and they have signed contracts in recent times with factories to produce beef in this manner. It is open to question whether it is right or wrong. Farmers in this line of business says that is the only way they can make money. One can see why that would distort the market. We need to try to balance that.

Both presentations dealt with European legislation in respect of competition in the marketplace. Everybody present is on the one page in that regard. Commissioner Hogan, shortly after he took up the position, said this was one of his key objectives. The committee produced a substantial report two years ago in this regard. European legislation seems to be the best way forward and it is crucial to move that to the next level. We have talked about it for long enough and we need to see action. Everybody needs to be on the one page to galvanise support to move it on.