Time for farmers to start thinking outside the box

Sheep and cattle farmers are under increasing pressure to boost farm incomes due to the lack of guaranteed prices and reduced EU baseline payments by 2019.

BY BERNIE LEAHY

The Teagasc Options Programme is based on helping farm families survive with the concept of thinking, planning and acting.

Background:

A series of successful Teagasc Options workshops held in Winter 2013 country wide showed a positive attitude to diversification by the 389 participants attending them.

The areas of greatest interest were financial skills, tourism, LEADER grants, marketing skills, succession and innovation.

Workshops:

Over a period of five nights, workshops were run in the Teagasc Centre, Athenry where attendees were most interested when speakers were farmers and entrepreneurs who were able to show the ups and downs of getting an enterprise off the ground.

Gerry Daly, Alstrong (Soil Aerating Machine), Ronan Byrne (The Friendly Farmer), Jimmy Barlow (Roscommon Organic Farmer) and John Heagney (Cycle Holidays Ireland) gave ‘food for thought’ to interested participants.

Business idea:

These farming entrepreneurs developed their business by following up on an idea, hobby or niche food area.

Each business was born out of experience, knowledge and strength in the face of adversity. In most cases these family enterprises had been successful as a result of mistakes made along the way. T

he outstanding ingredient for success involved ‘being passionate’ about the venture. This passion is born out of skill, knowledge and confidence about the product or enterprise being developed.

Enterprise viability:

Peter Young of The Irish Farmers Journal, speaking at the workshop, advised giving star ratings as a guide to initial start-up costs and profit potential of the new business.

When these are weighed up against each other it is possible to evaluate the challenge levels of the business. High challenge levels are directly linked to high risks in a new or existing enterprise.

Examples of low cost, low challenge businesses ranged from tourism, horse rides, rural nature trails, school farm tours, agri retail sales, farm forestry, organic potatoes, readymade meals compared to high cost, high challenge businesses such as nursing homes, artisan cheese production, bottled water, wind farm projects and wood pellet manufacture projects.

Farm based food businesses:

Quality food production, particularly organic, is becoming more and more popular at food festivals and Farmers Markets all over the country. A group of like minded Mayo farmers formed a producer group under the label Lamb Direct for sale of lamb directly to customer to improve prices got for their lamb.

Agri-tourism initiatives:

Activities on farms are becoming much more popular for the health and adventure seeking holidaymaker. Horse-riding, hiking trails, cycling with on farm accommodation from cottages to glamping (upmarket tent accommodation) are potential money spinners in the countryside.

Networking and website development between local entrepreneurs can produce an enticing local tourist package. Useful contact is marie.kelly@teagasc.ie.

For the future:

The success of the Teagasc Options Programme will be based on a collaborative approach with outside developmental agencies. Teagasc have held meetings with Galway Rural Development (GRD) to explore collaboration with local development companies to meet the training needs of previous course participants in basic farm finance, computer skills and start your own business courses.

Where it all ends or begins:

Teagasc plans to run national Succession and Inheritance workshops in collaboration with local solicitors, accountants and Teagasc advisors at local Teagasc Centres in Galway and Clare from September 17.

– Bernie Leahy is an advisor with Teagasc, Galway / Clare Regional Unit