Farm payments 2023

White Clover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121522731#Comment_121522731

Are you doing this survey for all sectors of the economy or just Agriculture?

Siamsa Sessions

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121522430#Comment_121522430

So is your little anthropology study part of a larger research project? Or just a private hobby?

I guess I’m wondering if you’re being paid to go out and talk to the natives in their loincloths and mud-huts? Or are you on a private safari?

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121520796#Comment_121520796

50-70% I imagine by land area. The fall out would mostly be on margin land. However now with greenhouse gases they do not want peatland planted as it releases more greenhouse gases. The most bio diverse farms would go first. Sucklers and hill sheep farms.

It would not impact dairy or tillage significantly. Like all big changes at first it would seem successful as food prices might fall at first as farmers get rid of loss making enterprises. However remember it might also start to take out semi viable farms.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121522268#Comment_121522268

Government funds all difference sections of the economy for different reasons. The reason farm supporters put in place was to prevent famine and food shortages which were common after WW11.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121522276#Comment_121522276

Due to the Ukraine war food prices increased by 40% at the farm gate in beef we got 20% approximately probably tge lowest of any sector. Irish beef export market trade price is about 4.6/kg, its 5.6 in the UK and 6++ in the US.

A reduction oin production could double prices over 3-5 years.

Dunedin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121523212#Comment_121523212

Define function? Does it mean 50-70% would be able to meet the cost of production or actually provide for a family/ pay mortgage/pay all household bills etc.

I doubt very much 50-70% of farms would fall into the latter without gov payments

Water John

Payment on MSS and Red Clover being issued. Not in my account yet.

mr.stonewall

Have a bit of red clover to get. I forgot to put in a statement showing proof of payment and was onto DAFM before the deadline. Reverted to simply having to email the additional info as the application couldn't be deleted and let start again.

Got an email saying it would be January before they issue the manual payments

Still waiting on acres aswell, like a number of neighbours, all seems to be a mapping issue with ripiaran strips and zones

BlueSkyDreams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121523212#Comment_121523212

Thank you for the detailed response BR.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121526934#Comment_121526934

Average farm size in Ireland ( considering its mostly stockbased) is quite low. Define the average farm.

Provided you are not obsessed with sucklers a substantial amount of farms give a decent return on hours worked. Family survival is a hard bar as most now are dual income. So it is all relative. If you were growing 5-7 acres of spuds along with a 50-70 acre drystock/sheep farm you would manage. In that situation if you had a decent job you would probably accept the option of working as well

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121534700#Comment_121534700

If you were growing 5-7 acres of spuds

The 1970's called.......... They want their advice back

Packrat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121536881#Comment_121536881

Why? Are spuds loss making now as well?

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121538408#Comment_121538408

The days of a random drystock farmer planting 5-7 acres of spuds are long passed unless you want to go down some niche market route.

We still used to do a few acres here, but that was only up to about 25 years ago. Even by then, most lads had stopped growing small amounts. You are either very specialised and growing hundreds of acres, or you are growing other veg etc. and rotating them in.

Even if you have old but functioning gear for planting and digging, do you have a market for them?

Do you grow any?

Packrat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121538515#Comment_121538515

Indeed. I was considering a couple of acres myself tbh.. No experience of them bar a home garden mind you.

Old but functional gear should be easily found with a bit of effort.

A market might require a bit of thought alright, but I'm organic and in a non-tillage area so there possibly would be one if searched for. Price would be key.

Yes I know that's a niche market job.

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121538595#Comment_121538595

The problem is selling them. Organic, you might find a niche but there will be extra work involved. I don't know what the organic lads do about blight. I seem to recall that one way to protect against it back in the day was to spray with copper sulphate. Maybe there is some exemption for organic for blight sprays. Soil ph could be an issue as well. Ideal for spuds is not the same as ideal for grass (they'll get a scab on them). I'd imagine that modern organic you're trying to keep your soil ph fairly bang on for grass.

Unless you have some contact already for regular wholesale outlets, you would find it difficult to get someone who'd be bothered trying to shift small acres for you. Big buyers are going to have their growers already. Some of that will also be grown and supplied under contract.

Your grandfather probably grew a few for sale. And his neighbors probably did as well. There is a reason why you don't see that now. Same as every farm probably had a few pigs in those days.

In my area, everyone would have grown some spuds back then. There are very few small growers holding out. It used to be the case that you might concentrate on earlies etc. But now, everything is in cold stores

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121538595#Comment_121538595

The economics of spuds has changed completely.You be surprised how much you would sell locally especially if you are organic. Mind you I think the economic of organic do not stack up.

At 8T ( not a huge crop) ton to the acres you are probably looking at 40k+ turnover for 5 acres. If you are near any sized decent town you will shift them to smaller shops. Ideally probably a bit of other vegetable as well.

Queens and Pinks. Aim for the Queens to be gone by mid August then you move your Pinks before early winter.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121538515#Comment_121538515

I think you are incorrect. Know a lad with six tunnels of strawberries shifting 40% out of his own yard at present. Passed a place recently with a couple hundred hens selling eggs within there own locality. If you want to make a decent income off a small area of land you have to look at a micro enterprise.

Packrat is right old functional gear can be bought for hand money with a little searching

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121538750#Comment_121538750

As I posted already, some would specialise with earlies. Some lads even used to grow them under glass for chipping (selling in chips - not making chips out of them). I don't think that really exists to the same extent now - maybe some restaurants might pay for them. Up to 25-30 years ago you'd always know the difference between the last of the old spuds and the first of the new ones coming in. You don't see that really now - and it's because of the cold stores.

Also, as I said, the gear is somewhat irrelevant. Because the issue would be in shifting them anyway. You can buy old gear and semi-automate planting and/picking but it won't make a huge difference. The days of picking off the ground into the paper bag and loading up are long gone. Shops won't take bags with any muck on them. And speaking of clay .... when is the last time you bought a bag of spuds that weren't washed? A bit of clay might help you selling them on a stall at a market. But the processors are taking them in in tonne boxes off the back of harvesters and washing them.

You might as well be suggesting that a drystock farmer can keep a few pigs along with his 70 acres to make it viable. (There are niche opportunities there too .... but that doesn't make it an easy feasible solution)

cute geoge

You be smart this year growing spuds on most ground ,There was not 3 dry days together since June .Every job is easy until you actually meet a snag .Neighbour was the biggest grower in the county for 30 years and went broke 3 times ,there is just one top operator still at it locally and if any one can make money off organic spuds they would deserve an award .Not to mention talking about picking up cheap gear ,gear that you will need slave labour to operatr is it

whelan2

Oh draws spuds for the last few years. The hardship the farmer had this year harvesting them and him with the best of equipment. Still digging carrots. Disaster of a year

Packrat

I've no doubt that if a fella with no experience on less than optimal ground tried to do potatoes selling to conventional markets on any quantity, he'd get his hole opened for him.

However you'd imagine with a bit of cleverness and graft in small quantities they'd sell away.

An acre for a try-out couldn't break the bank.

Siamsa Sessions

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121539211#Comment_121539211

An acre is always worth a trial of something different.

What kind of crop rotation would be needed for the spuds thou? Could you go back to grass straight away, or would a cover crop be needed first?

White Clover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121539296#Comment_121539296

Years ago I think it was garden for 2 years, then oats for a year and back to grass then.

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121539296#Comment_121539296

You could put it back into grass if you wanted. Although the old way would probably to put something else in in the following year but that was more to do with the fact that you'd have broken the ground by then.

Fresh ground makes a massive difference...........Big money if you were setting to a spud man .......... but you'd want it because those lads are hard on the ground

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121539369#Comment_121539369

Ya local lad dose that bales it. I think he has changed to barley from oats.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121538854#Comment_121538854

The trirk is to have them moved before early winter.

On the pigs there is a small drystock farm doing it. They started very small with a few pigs about 20 years ago

https://www.rigneysfarm.com/food

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121539892#Comment_121539892

When is the last time you grew spuds to sell them?

Dunedin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121538854#Comment_121538854

bang on here.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121539892#Comment_121539892

i honestly think you’re just trolling here re growing spuds. Is all land suitable to grow spuds, does everyone have the equipment, does everyone have a market,

I do a few drills here every year for the house. By Jesus you’d do well to sow an acre with my land - simply not suitable as land is too heavy.

pigs ???

maybe suggest going around and washing farmers tractors at €25 a pop. Do 4 a day would be €600 a week/€30k a year………

Toplink

Anyone still waiting on their 2023 ANC payment?

893bet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121540135#Comment_121540135

I think Bass bought a lovely farm with lovely land in a nice block and thinks anyone that cant manage a beef enterprise an 1hr per day is at nothing. It’s not always easy see things from other perspectives; we are all guilty of that.

Bullshit from government about “diversifying farm incomes”. If everyone diversifies then all those little niche incomes disappear entirely due to supply and demand etc.

Water John

Only a percentage need to diversify. Can be all sorts of ways, but as we can see now from factory beef prices, smaller supply of mainstream products does wonders for the provider. Same could happen soon too with milk. Is it 1,200 more have applied for organic?

woody84

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121541268#Comment_121541268

Yep, still waiting on the balance of the Eco payment too.

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121541420#Comment_121541420

How much of those going into organic are going into it to seriously farm organic, or who are winding down and just looking to take advantage of schemes.