The committee has estimated that by 2010 we will have twenty thousand full-time and sixty thousand part-time farmers, with a further twenty thousand in transitional groups. Every effort should be made to maintain the highest possible number in full-time farming. Once this number drops to twenty thousand, it is highly unlikely that it will ever increase again. Those full-time farmers are going to require a very high level of off farm services to support them in managing what will be much bigger farm units. The current trend among the more progressive top class farmers is to buy in most of their services. These farmers are pursuing a policy of keeping their capital costs to the minimum and so will need to use contract services for much of the work on their farms. Farm Relief Services (FRS) have been promoting a "Service Plus" scheme in recent years whereby we have identified "smaller" farms who are in a position to supply a man, tractor and machine for jobs such as fertiliser spreading, topping, slurry spreading etc. These services will need to be promoted more in future for the full-time farmer. The part-time farmer can earn a significant off-farm income in providing these services. The fact that the hours are flexible and the work will, generally speaking, be local to him, make this work very attractive by comparison with other non-farming part-time work.

There are many opportunities for part-time jobs to supplement farm income for those whose holdings are not sufficiently large to provide sufficient income. Again, there are very many examples of top class farmers who started out as part-time and built up their assets over time by investing their off farm income and their farming profits in additional land, stock, etc. The generation gap is much narrower now than in the previous generation, therefore options of working on other farms and gaining valuable experience, as well as an income, should be availed of. FRS have many examples of young farmers preparing for a future in dairying by this route, and many more who are now successful dairy farmers having been excellent FRS operators.

In the past many parents were reluctant to hand over the management of their farms (subsequently the ownership) because they feared for their own long-term security. The introduction of the farm retirement scheme and the state pension have resulted in more farmers handing over to their sons or daughters at an earlier age thus giving them management responsibility while young, energetic and enthusiastic.

The committee’s recommendation that no distinction be made between full and part-time farmers in terms of eligibility for schemes is extremely important. Changes to the farm retirement scheme to allow retired farmers work on other farms e.g. as relief milkers, stockmen etc. are essential as many of those taking the early retirement option have excellent skills which could be used on other farms.

A far more positive image of agriculture and farming as a career is essential if many potential inheritors are not to be put off taking over their home farms on a full-time basis if it is viable or part-time if not.

There has been tremendous hype and promotion of third level education through the CAO system in recent years – resulting in shortages of skilled people. Now, we see a big swing to the skills with the result that FAS are finding it difficult to provide their theory elements of the training, i.e. block release facilities. The job opportunities were never so good – but what if the economy does not maintain its present growth level and people are made redundant – where will those who have left farming return to? Therefore, we must be very careful of the "ABF" factor, i.e. anything but farming.

Important Decision

The decision to enter farming is a serious one and deserves very serious consideration, looking at all the facts – farm size, potential income, who has to be supported from that income, type of enterprise currently being operated, other realistic enterprise options that could yield better income. Undoubtedly, there are farms where the son or daughter is just not suited to farming and this is a fact of life and happens in all professions.

When making the decision to enter farming, the potential farmer must look at the value of the asset he / she is inheriting, as well as the annual income from the business. As this may not pass to the inheritor for a number of years, the parents must be prepared to ensure he has a reasonable weekly income that will allow him to socialise with his peers. The promise of "all this will be yours one day" will not suffice in the meantime.

Future farmers must manage their time better. This in effect means better organisation of their work, their farm layout, using contractors, FRS or other services as required. Certain activities on farms don’t pay – that is, don’t yield an adequate return for the time they take up. Good farmers and good managers will identify these activities, get rid of them and replace them with profitable activity.

Sourcing off-farm employment for the ever-increasing number of part-time farmers is a critical issue. These jobs need to be local and reasonably flexible if they are to fit in with the demands of part-time farming. FRS have recently established a rural employment agency – FRS People Placements – with the objective of assisting both employers and potential employees with achieving their employment objectives. FRS have a background of over twenty years in supplying skilled labour to the farm sector and this new co-operative FRS People Placements will attempt to develop a similar track record in the industrial, commercial and manufacturing sectors. We feel it will be ideally suited to the agri food sector and to the part-time farmers seeking work off farms.

Women generally take the responsibility of caring in both the family and the local community. Yet more women than ever before are participating – and seeking to participate – in the labour market. This is as true of women in rural areas as those in our towns and cities, and for all women who have parenting responsibilities their ability to participate is directly related to their access to affordable, quality childcare support.

Childcare facilities in Ireland fall far short of what is available in most other EU countries. The limited facilities that do exist are based mainly in our cities and to a lesser extent, in the larger towns and centres of high population. A great need exists to develop proper childcare facilities in rural Ireland.

The Farm Relief Service is well placed to see the change in the agricultural sector and rural Ireland generally. In the case of the farming community, many family farms are in crisis and dependent on the woman’s secure second income. Equally many more women are, as they always have been, working women engaged directly in farming, and they need to be able to call on family support services such as childcare. More and more women in rural Ireland are also seeking to participate in education, training and work outside the home, and without childcare they will not have the opportunity to do so while children are young. These are among the factors influencing the demand for childcare services in rural communities.

In essence, the absence of flexible, accessible and affordable rural childcare services reinforces inequalities and means that many rural women, farm women and lone parents experience isolation and are denied access to training and education programmes, returning to work and involvement in community life.

To achieve such quality childcare services, innovative and dynamic approaches are required to meet the needs of families living in rural areas where the population density cannot justify crèches or some of the other forms of childcare.

Among the barriers to childcare provision in rural areas are issues of location, distance, inadequate transport and the cost of insurance. For providers with small potential markets the management and administrative costs can be prohibitive and organising an outreach service logistically difficult.

FRS believes that it is well placed to address all of these issues, and develop and offer an approach to childcare provision which uses its network and management structure to create a childcare initiative that is appropriate, responsive and sustainable.

Teagasc have developed a number of courses including the Certificate in Agriculture and the Green Cert, aimed particularly at those people returning to full-time farmers. As the number of full-time farmers decreases and the size of their holdings get increasingly bigger, these farms, as stated earlier, will become more dependent on buying in services from contractors, FRS and others. These service providers will need training not only in the skills of the services they provide, but also in customer care, communication, safety, business management, etc. It is important that their needs are taken on board by Teagasc, FAS or some agency with the resources to deliver a quality service.