Sometimes you have to go abroad to evaluate what you have at home. When dairy farmers and their advisors plan a “Bassman Holiday,” they usually go to New Zealand, the United States, the Netherlands, or Denmark, but there’s a hidden gem just 45 miles across the Irish Sea. ..
A 2-hour ferry ride from Belfast to Cairnryan / Stranraer will take you to Dumfries, Scotland. Here you will find vast meadows with spectacular views of Lake Ryan.
Dumfries, a town with a population of 33,000, is home to the Crickton Royal Farm, the dairy research center of the Scottish Rural University (SRUC). This is basically the Scottish version of Teagasc.
I took a tour of Nuffield Dairy in the UK and participated in a central date for dairy in the UK. It is a confinement, high output system and a grass-based low input system.
This discussion took place in the Republic of Ireland over 20 years ago.
We decided to adopt a grass-based low input system, but it is still postponed in the UK.
There are three main reasons for making this decision.
State agricultural advice / research privatization
In the late 1980s, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was investigating the costs and benefits of state agencies.
The Agricultural Development Advisory Service (ADAS) is an organization within the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) that conducts agricultural research and advice.
Thatcher’s attitude was to privatize the successful parts of ADAS and close the rest. She declared, “This government was not chosen to grow flowers.”
ADAS was finally privatized in 1997. Due to this lack of independent advice and research, British dairy farmers have been reckless for 25 years and have been at the mercy of the market when making decisions about their farms.
Some survived and prospered. Many are not.
Private milk processing model
The most important question to ask a UK dairy farmer is who buys your milk and what are the terms of the milk supply contract?
This could determine the very existence of a British dairy farm. With a population of 68 million and only 7,880 dairy farmers, nine milk processors collect more than 70% of the milk.
This results in many variations in the types and terms of milk supply contracts signed by individual dairy farmers.
In the past, some processors have failed, leaving dairy workers without “milk checks” and not collecting unprecedented milk in Ireland.
Dairy farmers in the UK are much closer and more harmonious with the volatility of the dairy market.
In contrast, many Irish farmers admit that the processing and sale of milk is a problem for someone else.
This is because most of the milk processing in the UK is privately owned, while most of Ireland has a cooperative structure owned by Irish farmers.
Wealthy peasants
Traditionally, the UK dairy business is larger and wealthier than its Irish equivalent. More land and off-farm profits / assets have created a stronger balance sheet.
This freed some UK dairy farmers from false investment decisions and allowed them to change direction and survive the crisis over the years than Irish farmers.
Boarding lesson
Despite the lack of national direction from the advice and research of the last 25 years, many British dairy farmers are thriving.
Many farmers have traveled around the world seeking advice and research on how to make their businesses more profitable and sustainable.
Confinement farmers seek direction from the United States, and grass-based farmers look to Ireland’s Moorparks.
The message is that good dairy farmers will always find a way.
We have a thriving dairy industry here in Ireland with a clear focus on farm, processing, retail and government levels. But we cannot rely on glory.
The remaining 7,880 UK dairy farmers reached this time by surviving the fittest in a harsh, unprotected market environment.
They have the same climatic advantages as Irish dairy farmers, but with the additional advantages of land availability, larger farm sizes, and a huge domestic market at the front door.
There are undoubtedly many opportunities for new entrants to lease or conclude partnerships on feasible dairy farms to provide sufficient income to all parties.
There are also many opportunities for anyone interested in owning / managing multiple dairy units. I saw both examples in Dumfries.
From my trip to see British dairy products, it is clear that the Irish dairy industry needs to quickly agree and implement plans for the next 20 years.
UK dairy and processors have the potential to overtake us in every way unless we use a unified team industry approach to innovate and implement this plan.
Just because it worked before doesn’t mean it works again.
Mike Brady is the Managing Director of Brady Group’s Agricultural Consultants and Land Agents.
