Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Doyle. There has been a change in farming over recent years. We have gone on to a high stocking rate, which poses challenges. I come from a farming background, and although some would say that my own local area is half urban and half rural, the rural area is one where there is very intense farming. There is a lot of dairy farming and it is set at a very high stocking rate and people must plan for something like that. Farmers can plan for so many weeks of the year the amount of fodder they think they might require, which is an understanding farmers acquire from their own experience. They also tend to provide for an additional period when the weather may not be suitable for leaving stock out. So to be fair, farmers do plan.

The last six or seven months have been an unusual period where weather has not been on the side of farmers. Climate change is something that appears to be posing challenges for us in Ireland. Nevertheless, we are very lucky as a country because we have stock on land for a longer period than most of Europe. That is something we sometimes seem to ignore. Cattle grazing naturally, where milk is produced in that way, is one reason we can produce the produce we do. Most milk produced is from cattle out on grass rather than indoors, as in other jurisdictions. Over recent years, farmers have faced challenges and they are aware of them, but this year was exceptional. The Minister did respond in a timely manner in setting up the transport subsidy scheme and the stakeholder group composed of people from the farming organisations, the co-operatives and food merchants which was established to monitor the situation and see how to react. There is also the fodder import support scheme to co-operatives and importers. The Minister has responded and put in place the necessary measures to assist farmers.

We must now look at how farmers are advised. It is an issue I have increasingly come across. As someone involved in the legal profession, I regularly deal with farmers and one complaint I often hear from them is that they are constantly advised about increasing stocking rates. They find themselves under a lot of pressure and are being told they are not competitive enough because they do not have the same stocking rate as someone two miles down the road. We need to get a balance on this. In looking for a balance it is important that we ensure we advise farmers about planning and ensuring that there is adequate fodder and that they take into account the extra two or three weeks they might need to keep stock inside.

This has been an exceptional year. The dairy farmers are lucky in that milk prices have been extremely good and hopefully that will continue. We have a great product to sell and we are doing very well in that regard. The recent success in the Chinese market is proof of how good we are doing and the products that we are producing. The farming community adds to the local economy but also the wider economy in the number of people employed in the downstream industries. It is a huge industry in this country which adds greatly to our exports and it is important that the farming community gets the support it needs when difficulties arise. The Minister has responded appropriately and has delivered. Hopefully in the next week to two weeks we will see the change the farmers need to see in the weather in order to allow stock out to graze rather than feed them indoors. I thank the Minister for coming before the House and dealing with this issue.