Midland Farmer - September 2023

18 MIDLAND FARMER
September 2023
SOMETHING OLD
Falling
beef prices
costing
farmers
€2m per
week –
Cullinan
The Irish Farmers’
Association (IFA) is
estimating that
falling beef prices are
currently costing
Irish farmers around
€2 million per week.
The association said
that the gap between
Irish beef price and
the Bord Bia export
benchmark price currently
stands at
19c/kg, and is continuing
to widen.
IFA president Tim
Cullinan is calling on
meat factories to
immediately address
this gap which he
said is costing the
Irish livestock sector
millions.
“We estimate that
the gap between the
export benchmark
price and the Irish
beef price is costing
the Irish beef farmers
about €2 million
per week at the
moment.
“This is at a time
where farmers are
really struggling due
to bad weather and
escalating costs,” he
said.
BEEF PRICES
The IFA president
said that “farmers
need every cent that
is in the market to be
returned to them”.
“Instead of closing
the gap with the
benchmark price, factories
are going in the
other direction with
beef price,” he said.
Cullinan said that
while beef prices
internationally are
on a downward trend,
the recent declines in
Irish prices have been
much steeper than
what has occurred in
other markets.
IFA National Livestock
Committee
chair, Brendan Golden
added: “It’s about
time factories started
supporting farmers
instead of shortchanging
them which
is clearly the case at
the moment.”
As reported
recently, factory
quotes for finished
cattle this week have
continued to fall with
most outlets reducing
quotes by an further
5c/kg across the
board.
Price quotes for
heifers and bullocks
(steers) have now
fallen by approximately
60c/kg since
quotes peaked in
April of this year.
SOMETHING NEW
Revitalising rural Ireland’s old houses
“I love seeing older houses on farms brought back to
life but farmers have a set of obstacles like no-one else
when it comes to bringing these buildings back into
use,” Maggie Molloy, the presenter of the RTÉ programme
‘Cheap Irish Homes’ said.
“Some are lived in by the older generation until all
the sons and daughters are sorted and living in their
own houses and then when the main house becomes
empty, it’s almost surplus to everyone’s needs,” she
said.
“You can’t easily sell it because it’s normally down in
the middle of the farm and even renting it isn’t
straightforward, with a working farmyard more than
likely based outside the back door.
“But these older buildings within a farm contain so
much history when it comes to the families that were
reared in them.
“Even the traditions practiced inside their walls and
the memories associated with ancestors now gone are
so important,” she added.
“The solution may not be as straightforward as a simple
switch over once the house is vacated, but even
maintaining and valuing the building until the next
generation is grown could see some willing grandchild
raise their hand, ready to take on granny’s old place,”
Maggie said.
This is the 4th season of ‘Cheap Irish Homes’ in
which Maggie presents people interested in older properties
around the country with options to meet their
requirements and budget.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I expect the series to
be so popular,” she said.
“I always thought I was in the minority when it came
to old houses. But it turns out a lot of people around the
country are willing to roll up their sleeves and take on
a renovation project,” she said.
“I think in a small way we have managed to change
thinking about how derelict or dilapidated houses in
rural areas can be revamped to provide housing for
people.
“I see so many empty cottages and farmhouses now
being rented, sold, renovated or just passed on to family
members and I think before the show and before my
Instagram feed, the conversation around these older
houses just wasn’t happening on such a national scale.
“I even hope we played some part in opening the government’s
eyes to the potential in old vacant houses.
The new grant we have for these houses offers home
buyers some much needed money to invest in essential
upgrades,” she said.
TOO QUICK TO DEMOLISH OLD HOUSES?
We have absolutely been too quick to demolish in the
past, Maggie contended.
“There’s a phrase I hear constantly and every time it
comes up it just makes me worried for the state of the
houses we have left. It’s; ‘Sure it’d be cheaper to knock
that and rebuild’,” she said.
“Firstly, in a lot of cases, this simply isn’t true.
“If you want to turn your three-roomed cottage into a
five-bedroom bungalow complete with glass box extension,
then maybe, but if all you plan to do is insulate it,
upgrade your windows and fit a new kitchen then it’s a
fantastic home for you,” Maggie said.
“A lot of vacant houses around rural Ireland already
have all their services, internal bathrooms, sitting
rooms, bedrooms, kitchens and roofs. And these kinds
of houses don’t need as much done to them as people
think.”
Maggie is delighted that there are new grants now
that will incentivise the owners of derelict houses to do
them up.
“The vacant property refurbishment grant makes
€50,000 available to people willing to renovate a house
Maggie Molloy
that has been empty for at least two years,” she said.
“If the house is classed as derelict you can apply for a
further top up of €20,000 and if you have a traditional
farmhouse and are considering applying for the grant,
you can get an additional allowance of up to €7,500 for
expert conservation advice on how to refurbish your
property.”
A ‘BUZZ’ IN RURAL IRELAND
“Covid-19 changed a lot of things for a lot of people
and definitely there’s a buzz about living in rural Ireland
like I’ve never seen before.
“Sure it’s expensive to run a car and you can’t get the
bus everywhere, but rents and mortgages are more
affordable and remote working is making the move a
realistic option for a lot of people who never dreamed
they’d have the chance at a better way of life,” contended
Maggie.
“If we embrace this new found bubble of enthusiasm
for rural Ireland by encouraging young people to live
here, incentivising them to set up new businesses here,
to work from home if their broadband is good enough,
to set up co-working spaces in our towns and villages if
the broadband is better in there, then everything will
snowball.
“Other supporting businesses will come, the local
mechanics will be back, the corner shop will re-open,
the pubs will be alive again, our schools will fill again,
and it could very easily in our lifetime all come back to
how it was, only better than before.
“It’s been a long time since people have so openly on a
national scale talked about moving out of our cities
and into the countryside, but it’s ours to lose if we
don’t fight for it.”
Maggie has been inundated with requests to do follow-ups
to give an insight into whether people featured
on the programmes bought the properties showcased
on the series.
“I’d love to do a follow up show and we’re currently
exploring the possibility of doing one,” she said.