Mr. Seán Finan:

I thank the committee for giving Macra na Feirme the opportunity to come in today and discuss our thoughts on the future development of the dairy industry. I am delighted to be joined by my colleagues Mr. Bryan Hynes, the chairperson of our agricultural affairs committee, Mr. Edmond Connolly, our CEO, and Mr. Derrie Dillon, our rural and cultural affairs manager. Macra na Feirme's presentation will highlight the huge development potential and opportunities for young dairy farmers after the abolition of the milk quota. We will also highlight how policy-makers, co-operatives, industry and farmers working together on the issues affecting the industry can result in young farmers availing of the exciting opportunities that exist in dairying.

The issues that affect young dairy farmers, affecting their future development potential and the decisions they make in their careers, are generally the same as those affecting all young farmers regardless of their enterprise. My presentation will reflect and outline some of the general challenges and issues facing young farmers in the development of our businesses as well as identifying potential solutions.

This is a great time to be a young farmer entering the industry and also for those who are established and trying to grow and drive forward their business. Huge opportunities exist and the future is bright for young, trained, energetic, technically proficient, business-minded young farmers. Young farmers believe that due to a combination of factors, including expanding international demand for food, the ambitious targets set out in Food Wise 2025, mandatory measures for young farmers in CAP reform and milk quota abolition, it certainly is a time of opportunity. However, the number of dairy farms in Ireland and across the EU is decreasing year on year, according to the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, and it is important that we address this by ensuring young dairy farmers are encouraged and supported in entering the industry. Encouraging young people into dairying creates job and career opportunities and provides for a multiplier effect in rural areas that supports businesses and rural communities.

As the new generation of farmers, we will have to be technically proficient in our approach to the running of our businesses, focusing on the drivers of profitability on our farms, utilisation of grass, soil fertility, improvements in breeding, and adopting sustainable practices such as the principles of the Bord Bia Origin Green initiative. This excellent initiative makes Ireland a world leader in food production and highlights the sustainability of the Irish agriculture industry.

As the representative body for young farmers, Macra na Feirme hears from our members about the issues on the ground that challenge young dairy farmers and, indeed, all young farmers. The common barriers for young farmers progressing within the industry are access to land, credit and education. Macra na Feirme was founded in 1944 to educate young farmers and improve their practical farming skills.

Macra na Feirme was founded in 1944 to educate young farmers and help them to develop the practical skills of farming. We encourage young farmers to engage with formal education. We also encourage young farmers during their farming career to develop themselves through engagement in continued professional development and further training. Continued professional development is common in other professions, but a recent young farmer training needs analysis carried out by Macra na Feirme identified that there was no real tradition of young farmers engaging in or completing further training. What we are seeing is that when young farmers return home and have been farming for a few years, they realise at that stage that they need further training in the skills required to be successful. Macra na Feirme provides this continued professional development and practical experience through our Macra na Feirme young farmer Skillnets programme. This focuses on three main areas that young farmers identified in the training needs analysis: business, technical and personal. This programme is intended as an add-on to the formal education that young farmers receive. Programmes and structures that encourage young dairy farmers to get involved in their co-operatives and processing industry are also essential to ensure that innovation, energy and leadership are part of the future of the industry. Macra currently partners with ICOS and Teagasc to deliver training opportunities in this area.

Access to formal education is an issue that young farmers have identified. To comply with the requirements of the new mandatory CAP measures, young farmers have to have started their agricultural education by September 2016. The Government and Teagasc must ensure that sufficient resources are provided for our formal agriculture education system to ensure that young farmers can get their agricultural education and that this education is to the highest standard and equips young farmers with the knowledge and skills they require. As young farmers, we are businessmen and women, and successful businesses require long-term planning, both financial and strategic. Macra na Feirme encourages young farmers to improve their skills and take the next steps to improve their efficiency and technical ability. These steps will result in increased profitability at farm level within their businesses and allow them to add value, drive output and develop their enterprises.

Macra na Feirme continues to work on the access to land issue and delivers a programme in land mobility through our land mobility service. The land mobility service sums up what our organisation can positively contribute to the industry. Young farmers first identified land mobility as an issue affecting them. We commissioned a land mobility and succession report to give us the evidence. It found that 48% of farmers over 50 had no identified successor. A service was then devised and rolled out. This service means that land is now easier to access for young farmers. The service is about getting more young blood into the industry through collaborative arrangements such as long-term leases, partnerships and share farming agreements. I am delighted to inform the committee that the service is growing steadily, with more than 350 clients and approximately 140 arrangements in place. I would like to acknowledge the contributions that the various stakeholders make to the service.