Mr. Michael Hennessey:

Senator Paul Daly asked a pertinent question about the advice that would be given to a farmer in the west who had had two particularly poor years and what he or she could do next year and the year after that. It is tricky enough because there are several rules, including greening rules and so on, that have forced some such farmers to grow crops that might not be as good as they would like or would ordinarily pick. Certain crops stand better. When a farmer has a poor year, he or she has a much longer period to harvest the crop. There are good and bad farmers in all sectors and Teagasc could bring the Senator to meet many farmers in the west who have managed to get their crops in on time because of the crop mix they use. There may be a mix of winter and spring crops that suit the relevant land. What crop suits a particular piece of land has to be considered on a farm to farm basis. Some such farmers have the necessary machinery, expertise and knowledge, but weather was the big thing that was against them. However, in a normal year they tend to get on reasonably well. There is much we can do, but we cannot do a lot about the weather.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked about land that was fit to grow willow. No matter what land is in question, good land will produce a good crop, whether it be grass, willow or grain. The better the land, the better the crop that will be produced from it. That is universal for all crops. Willow is capable of being grown on wetter land, but the wetter the land, the poorer the yields one will get. Willow is very much on the conventional side of the house in terms of GM crops. Programmes in Scandinavia, in particular, have shown that willow is outclassed in yield over a period of time; after about 15 years it will be outclassed and will have to be replanted.