Dr. Frank O'Mara:

We think it absolutely has a future because farmers can make money out of it, as illustrated in the programmes to which we have referred. It has always had a lower margin per hectare than dairy, which is what has been attracting beef farmers into dairy. However, because of the fragmentation of some land or the fact that the size of a farm may not allow a large-scale dairy enterprise, not to mention the fact that some farmers work on a part-time basis, there are many farmers for whom beef and suckler production is the most suitable system. We believe that, with the application of the technologies about which we spoke, it can be done profitably, albeit less so than dairy.