Published: Wednesday, 2nd December, 2009 5:00pm

A new way of farming

Farms are facing a price/cost squeeze as output prices fall and costs rise and it is against that background that the conference, A New Way of Farming on Farm Partnerships and Share Farming took place in the Horse and Jockey, Co. Tipperary last Thursday.

Organised by Teagasc and the Farmers Journal, and supported by AIB, the conference heard how the average farm size in Ireland is small relative to our competitors in New Zealand, Australia, South America, the US and Canada, and the full benefits of advances in mechanisation and technology can only be reaped by increasing the average acreage farmed.

Teagasc specialist Ben Roche told the 200 delegates that a family farm is unlikely to continue and prosper unless it is viable economically and socially. "Today's conference explores the benefits that farmers can achieve by co-operating in joint farming arrangements. Teagasc can provide information and assistance to farmers who wish to look at partnerships or share farming as an option to increase scale or improve economic and social viability for the future," he said.

Some farmers have already entered formal partnerships, and the conference heard from a number who are farming in this new way. There are currently 556 Milk Production Partnerships in Ireland. Ben Roche pointed out that entering a farm partnership offers farmers a number of benefits, such as the ability to achieve scale at lower cost, the reduction of costs which are duplicated between farmers, manage synergy and share risk.

The conference also heard about share farming arrangements, which would suit drystock farmers more than dairy farmers. The Teagasc specialist continued: "Share farming is a joint venture between two separate farming businesses where two people, a land owner and a share farmer, jointly farm the same area of land as separate enterprises, remaining separate and independent for accounting and tax purposes."

The current structure of Irish farming presents a challenge for policy makers and for Irish agriculture because it is characterised by relatively small-scale operations. Overhead costs have risen consistently on Irish farms while direct costs, as a percentage of market income, have also increased.

Teagasc researcher Aine Macken Walsh highlighted the issue of the one-man farm business from a social perspective. She pointed out that joint farming agreements can reduce isolation by bringing social contact into the workplace and by freeing up time for farmers' social activities. "It's a response to the needs of the modern farm family by facilitating joint enterprises between members of farm families," she concluded.

Commenting after the conference, David Colbourne of Teagasc said that there are a number of partnerships already in the Cavan, Monaghan area. With a lack of off-farm opportunities and poor margins in drystock, there might be more interest in dairy farmers amalgamating in partnerships or in young non-dairy farmers joining with older established dairy farmers to produce milk and generate a better return from farming.