Published: Wednesday, 28th October, 2009 5:10pm

Castlepollard man sees how UK farmers cope with market volatility

Comments (0) | Print | Email

Michael Halpin Branch Registrar of Castlepollard IFA Branch, winner of the Westmeath 2009 IFA/FBD Scholarship tour to England, Scotland and Wales was one of a group of over 30 farmers drawn...

from IFA's 945 branches for their outstanding voluntary help in developing the association's membership.

Here he gives a brief account of his experience on his recent visit and reports on the opportunities and challenges these farmers also face in the wake of increasing multiple power, increased market volatility and a credit squeeze in farming.

The scholarship tour which was sponsored by the FBD Trust visited farms and met with cooperative representatives and farms leaders in England, Scotland and Wales.

"One of the biggest issues facing farmers in the countries visited was the increasing pressure that the retail multiples have on farm product prices. Many of the farmers across the British Isles have scaled up in anticipation of better returns and a better standard of income. Many have found little reward in this, and the majority of large scale and family farm units visited were very critical of the policy that Britain has adopted as it fails to deal with multiples in any specific manner and for not educating the general public regarding the importance of good food.

"The scholarship trip commenced in Dublin and took us across Belfast, Scotland, England and Wales. On our trip through the north of Ireland the group saw how dairy farmers are coping with the freeing up of dairy quotas and the real focus they have had to put on addressing their cost base. The work at Hillsborough Research Centre is interesting. They also have some collaborative work with Teagasc and increasingly their research work is focusing on the environmental impact across each commodity section.

"Of the farms we visited in Scotland, the 1,000 acre arable was the most interesting, this farm unit has been in the family for four generations and having gone down with foot and mouth, they had to leave dairy to concentrate solely on arable farming. The main challenges on arable farms is to control the cost of inputs, with farmers exploring all options to reduce costs including the contracting out of the main activities to reduce expensive machinery and labour costs.

"Borderway Mart, Carlisle is one of the largest leading livestock sale centres in the UK. It has the capacity to sell 4,000 head of cattle and 17,000 sheep on any one day. The Harrison & Hetherington's farmstock business dates back to 1870. Livestock sales are the core of the business. About twelve years ago the H & H group broadened its base to include motor auctions, estate agents, chartered surveyors, vehicle finance and insurance brokers to develop its profitability by maintaining high service levels and a competitive offering for all its customers. It has a staff of 120 with 15 auctioneers. There are five sales rings. The seller pays all the commission and stock are sold by sight, not weight. "There was a Belgian Blue show and sale on the day we attended.

"We then travelled to the Holstein dairy farm of Matthew and Pat Turnbull. They milked 240 cows that calved all year round from a herd of 300. Cows average 9000 litres and supply a half million gallons annually. They rear all the heifer calves and calf them a two years, where they yield 6,500 litres. Cell count is under 2.5. They cut their own silage and pay £15 an acre to pick it. It costs £40 to £50 an acre to cut with a contractor as well as providing the fuel. They use an electronic heat-detection system and do their own AI, which costs from £6 to £12. Pat served us a lovely, typical Cumbrian lunch in the local hall.

"Middleton beef and suckler farm consists of approximately 1,050 acres, of which 600 are owner-occupied and 450 rented. The owned acreage includes 140 acres in Wales L.F.A. Approximately 600 acres of cereals is grown each year in a four-year rotation of oilseed rape, 2 x wheat, followed by barley. There are 75 suckler cows. Heifers are crossed with a Limousin bull and a Belgian Blue is used on the cows. 123-130 Belgian Blue X and Charolais X calves are purchased each year. All males are finished and sold through ABP Shrewsbury under 16 months of age; weight range 280 - 400 kgs.

Heifers are finished at 21-27 months on barley mix and straw, following a summer on grass. "They are sold through ABP Ellesmere at 350kgs for 'Jamie Oliver' mature beef for Sainsbury's.

"The sheep flock consists of 450 breeding ewes; the upland area supports Welsh and Beulah, the home flock consists of 200 Lleyn X ewes. The upland lambs are finished on roots in the spring with the home-produced lambs finishing on grass.

"We then travelled on to Welshpool where we visited a falconry and a sheep mart. The falconry housed various breeds of owls, eagles, buzzards and kestrels, hawks (both blue and red). When flying birds it is all about association as we all witnessed. At the falconry there was a pedigree Texel sheep farm which is owned by Stephen and Helen Smith. Helen is Head of Agricultural Policy in the Welsh Assembly. Their daughter Anna, 22 years old, runs the farm with her father. Steve is a Texel judge and judges in Ireland regularly. They run 1,200 mules crossed with Welsh Blackface, 580 Texel. They sold three-quarter breed Texels in early July for £100 for 38-39kgs. Medium sheep are best as they have good skin and muscles - meat is what sells at the end of the day.

"They were at the mart on the day where there was a Texel Show & Sale at which we all attended. Smith's Texel breeding sheep averaged £400.

"Scotland, England and Wales have beautiful scenic countryside; many of the memorable sites we visited include the beautiful Lake District covering 2,292 square kilometres and hosts eight million visitors a year.

Edinburgh Castle, Millennium Stadium and a guided sightseeing tour of London and Windsor castle.

"I wish to thank FBD for having given me the opportunity of this very educational week and also thanks to IFA for organising it and fitting so much into it."