Dairy was not an option for most suckler farmers, said Trevor Boland, who farms part-time in Sligo on poor land:
“We do need assistance. The customer isn’t paying for beef because it is priced against chicken and pork. The margin is going to the factories and the supermarkets.
“The supermarkets have the power over the factories and the factories have the power over the farmers. Our costs have gone up, our feeds, our fertiliser, but the price we receive hasn’t increased,” Mr Boland said.
Despondency and frustrationTrouble for suckler farmers meant trouble for local towns, he warned. “Marts in towns like Ballymote and Ballina could go out of business and that would affect those towns hugely,” he said.
Irish Times 08/05/2019
“We do need assistance. The customer isn’t paying for beef because it is priced against chicken and pork. The margin is going to the factories and the supermarkets.
“The supermarkets have the power over the factories and the factories have the power over the farmers. Our costs have gone up, our feeds, our fertiliser, but the price we receive hasn’t increased,” Mr Boland said.
Despondency and frustrationTrouble for suckler farmers meant trouble for local towns, he warned. “Marts in towns like Ballymote and Ballina could go out of business and that would affect those towns hugely,” he said.
Irish Times 08/05/2019
