Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 50: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his attention has been drawn to the latest profit monitor report showing that only the top one third of suckler farmers generated a profit in 2007 while the bottom two thirds were forced to subsidise their farms with premium payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37460/08]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The profit monitor analysis system is a service provided by Teagasc to farmers. It enables farmers to measure the physical and financial performance of their farms, to compare it with farmers nationally and to plan for improvements to be made in specific areas in order to improve profitability. The profit monitor results for 2007, which were launched in September 2008, show a range in profitability on suckler farms throughout the country. A wide range in margins has been demonstrated between the top third and the bottom third in terms of overall profitability.

Taking the situation net of farm support payments, the top third of suckler farmers generated a net profit with the average and bottom third of farms not generating a profit. There are however significant levels of payments being obtained by farmers on top of any profit from their stock including the Single Farm Payment, the Rural Environment Protection Scheme, and the Disadvantaged Area Scheme. The suckler herd is the source of much of our high-quality beef and the results highlight that there is huge scope for many suckler farms to increase profits by improving farm efficiency. The report indicates a number of key areas where efficiency can be increased. These include:

Better grassland management

higher on farm stocking rate

better breeding using the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation cattle breeding services

better nutrient management

I would encourage more farmers to make use of the results of the profit monitor service to make improvements to the technical efficiency of their farms and therefore, increase their profitability levels.