IRISH GRASSLAND ASSOCIATION

Contact: Mr Pat McFeely, President

ANTICIPATED ISSUES AND LIKELY SCENARIO IN 2010

Beef

• Export refunds will have disappeared.
• Direct payments will continue for stock already receiving them in the existing CAP framework i.e. beef, dairy and sheep.
• Production controls will still be in place.
• Some form of border protection will continue; this may be based on "green" criteria.
• Irish beef production may be 5-10% lower due to abolition of export refunds and competitive pressure from white meats.
• Hormone -treated beef unlikely to be circulating freely and unlabelled within EU.

Dairying

• Exports of commodities to 3rd Countries will be very vulnerable. What volume is currently in this category?
• The dairy enterprise offers the most efficient use of land in Ireland.
• Granting of full premium rights to dairy-type animals is questionable; perhaps a quality mean test should be introduced.

Sheep

• New Zealand lamb imports will neither decrease in quality nor quantity terms.
• No sympathy for Irish commercial sheep industry at EU level.

Farm Structure

• Number of part-time farmers will continue to increase.
• Size of commercial farming units will increase.

REQUIREMENTS TO UNDERPIN A STRONG, COMMERCIAL IRISH LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY IN 2010

Against an anticipated backdrop of reduced EU support for agriculture and greater Third Country access, the survival of the Irish Agricultural and Food industry will require:

• production at lowest possible cost
• processing and marketing strategies to give the highest possible sales return.

The future competitiveness of the Irish beef, dairying and sheep sectors will be based on grass. The capacity of grass to sustain its pivotal role will be determined by the development of a vibrant multidisciplinary grassland research programme. There is evidence that grass may be losing ground in maintaining progress against the research and development gains achieved in other crops. For example, a recent study in Massey University, New Zealand has shown that dry matter (DM) yields of maize have increased by 220% since 1965 whereas the DM yield of well managed ryegrass has improved by <10% in the same period.

The two major requirements for Irish grassland research are:

• growing more grass over a longer season and harvesting a greater proportion of the grass grown by grazing.
• supplying winter feed requirements through the use of grazed grass, grass silage and by defining the role of grain and conserved maize in different systems.

A broad based collaborative programme with leading grassland research centres (both state and private commercial organisations) in Ireland and other temperate grassland regions is strongly recommended. A particular example would be plant breeding where technology has lagged.

A revitalised, comprehensive grassland research programme built around the following disciplines is urgently required:

• plant breeding; essential if the potential of biotechnology and genetic engineering are to be exploited
• agronomy
• plant nutrition and soil chemistry
• microbiology
• plant physiology
• soil physics; fundamental to issues of improved utilisation and extended grazing season et al.
• animal nutrition/science

Well managed research focused on grass is a good investment for the State and farmers. However, as in all research, the area is dynamic and being in the vanguard of developments a decade or more ago may count for little today.

Progress in research requires an adequate career structure to encourage young graduates to specialise. Adequate funding is essential for research and joint funding between the State, the processing industry and primary producers must be actively pursued to a successful conclusion.

In terms of processing and marketing, conventional thinking should be questioned. For example, what balance is required and/or desirable in the dairy industry between branded products targeted at the retail sector and regular commodity product trading? Is the industry prepared to undertake the relatively high risk and capital investment in branded product development?

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