Dr. Siobhán Kavanagh:

The biggest problem is there is a lack of trust and people have been caught in the past. Having the contract in place is the first port of call. We give guides on prices rather than value; it is cost per acre or, ideally, on a tonne basis. We recommend payment by instalment, with people paying at the beginning and becoming committed to the crop. There is a payment halfway through and the balance is paid on delivery into the yard. That gives commitment from the very start. We do not get involved in setting those arrangements but it is the guide we give.

We have done a little work in some of the units. We have sent a text message to our tillage and dry stock clients asking if they are interested in growing fodder for farmers or, on the other side, if there is interest in having fodder grown. Some regions have a register and they have done some matching but it is up to the farmers to figure out the payment system. It is what we recommend and it shows a commitment from day one if somebody must pay up front. Some of the matching has been done in Teagasc.

We have put out the text in my region and there are 20 tillage farmers on a list prepared to grow crops. Only one dairy farmer came from the other side. Part of the reason for this is that farmers are so physically and mentally tired from the spring that they have not this year processed the option of getting tillage crops grown. Over the next couple of years we will have to try to develop it a bit more. It is a very welcome development that the co-ops have gotten involved with the matching and bringing people together.