Category Archives: Ireland’s dairy sector

DAIRY’S EXPANSIONIST RHETORIC APPEARS TO BE BACK

Posted on December 10, 2017 by

This post first appeared online at http://www.thatsfarming.com on the 27th November 2017 Reading the press, one notices that we are again being regaled with more about dairy expansion. Now I have no objections to expansion per se, if it is … Continue reading →

Posted in Ireland's dairy sector, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

CHERRY PICKING CAN YIELD A BITTER HARVEST

Posted on August 27, 2017 by

This post first appeared online at http://www.thatsfarming.com on the 23rd August 2017 When I started delving into the Irish agri-food industry, an early finding was a preference for focusing on partial farm-production costs. For some reason which, in my less … Continue reading →

Posted in Ireland's dairy sector, Irish agri-food strategy, Thats Farming | 1 Comment

A Centre of Excellence for Quality-Indicated Products

Posted on April 4, 2017 by

Ireland desires to be a ‘food island’ but for a country with such aspirations it has woefully few European Union- registered designated-origin products. It may appear to be an anomaly but it is a well-founded one as the Irish agri-food … Continue reading →

Posted in Grass-fed farming systems, Ireland's Beef Sector, Ireland's dairy sector, Quality Assurance schemes, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

IRELAND’S FAILURE TO DOMESTICATE THE UK FOOD MARKET

Posted on February 20, 2017 by

As I was writing about Brexit earlier, I was thinking upon the position that Irish farmers now find themselves in. Elsewhere I have said that it is the single most important issue facing Irish farming since the Emergency [that is … Continue reading →

Posted in Ireland's Beef Sector, Ireland's dairy sector, Irish agri-food strategy, Supply chains | 1 Comment

THE OTHER CLIMATE-CHANGE THREAT TO IRISH FARMING

Posted on January 15, 2017 by

In what I expect to be a fast-moving food world in the coming decade, thinking creatively is critical. On the other hand, a prevailing ‘group think’ may be highly destructive. I am closely watching the evolving debate over climate change … Continue reading →

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LET US ALL JUST BLAME THE POOR OLD COW

Posted on November 30, 2016 by

There was a time before the days of widespread dietary guidelines where people started the day not on muesli and skimmed milk but on pig fat and onion. It was a time when a skinny latte was not even a … Continue reading →

Posted in Grass-fed farming systems, Ireland's Beef Sector, Ireland's dairy sector, Irish agri-food strategy, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

ARE SOME COWS NOW MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS?

Posted on September 17, 2016 by

Having spent much of this Millennium working on investment plans for dairy farming and milk processing, I am used to looking at variations in those that supply the milk. They have included species variables [cows, sheep and water buffalo] and … Continue reading →

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