Let's all start growing Grain!?

We are planning on reseeding 5-6 acres of grass this year. Would be spraying it off fairly soon. If there is a viable scheme put in place, we'd have no bother putting in a crop for a year. But if we're taking on all the risk, then no. Will see what the plan is anyway

The harvesting would be the tricky bit as I wouldn’t have a clue when it’s ready not to mention trying to get a lad to come and cut my 3 acres 😞😞 spraying would probably be an issue too as my little 300 litre sprayer is grand for the docks but wouldn’t fancy going out in a nice field of barley - be a lot left on the ground by the time I’d be finished I’d say.

You’d probably get an exemption because it’s too difficult for you

WBC land has gone down hill each year. Crops like kale etc starved the ground.

It would be more marginal now, as you say, if they step up to the plate, enough who can do it will produce but it can't be all on the farmers back.

I wonder are tillage farmers annoyed with the whole idea? It’s manipulating the market on them if there is government support

Wouldn't cover costs with increases in fuel, seed and fert.

Problem is Whiskey and all premium drinks have had a massive increase in sales. There’s no simple solution

When the malting barley has been used by the distillers, doesn't it end up as animal feed?

Problem is there's investment firms buying barrels promising 12% profit a year or up to 500% over five years. They buy the barrels. Warehouses are built. Light and rent is paid for the warehouse all by the investor in the hope that someone at the end will pay the premium when they wish to cash in and hope that someone drinks it.

It's tulip mania or bitcoin.

Warehouse after warehouse being built to store barrels. The winners are who sells the barrels in the first place and owners of the warehouses.

There are two I think. One in Kells in Meath and one more I believe. Small scale though

To add my 2 cents to the mix

i think it should be compulsory, as a scheme to pay x amount for a crop will only push up rental prices and not get the acres needed.

but needs to be clear exemptions for those farming marginal ground or in deregation, can’t expect a hill farmer to plough the side of a hill or a highly stocked farmer to destock enough to make room for grain in a short space of time

I think it should be worked a bit like share cropping, farmer provides the land, state provides the inputs, contractor/tillage farmer provides the equipment and knowledge to grow the crops. And at harvest everyone gets a share in the returns but I think the contractor/ tillage farmer needs to be paid by the state as work is done to ensure they can pay for extra staff as the year goes on.

also I think there should be start up grants available for those willing to commit to change certain % of their land to crops to afford equipment

land already in tillage should be exempt from any schemes but the state should reduce any vat or import duties on sprays etc. to help keep costs down.

but at the end of the day apart from all the issues between fuel, fertiliser and seed, realistically they have till the end of March to come up with a plan to allow some kind of certainty to plant in April and it’s probably a safe bet to assume whatever they decide to do will be inadequate and too late to be any good😂

Massive opportunity now for all those wannabe experts (both from the academia and green worlds) if the government allowed a scheme where these people could rent ground for the year and let them show us how to grow a crop.. Im sure contractors and farmers alike would make themselves and their equipment available for the machinery work at a reasonable rate.

No point in us doing it, as we've always been doing it the wrong way...Would really like to see it done properly...opportunity now..

You’re right..i could spare 10 acres of decent ground…doing the sums on a fag packet…if i got 3 tonne to the acre, cost for the 30 tonne, doing my own spraying, ploughing harrowing and rolling would be approx 4500 ish. Then pay to possibly dry and roll it.. transport..harvesting.. total outlay maybe 6500? ..30 tonne of beef nut will be 12000 in a week…i know I’ll have to add soya bean meal …and there’s the value of the straw…approx e2000..it seems like a runner..be interesting to hear opinions,