In 1970 my father bought land about two miles from his farm and set to the back-breaking task of reclaiming.

He clearing furze, teased out gnarled roots and removed stones of biblical proportions with the help of the meitheal of neighbours and a small tractor. Many of the stones were piled to form ditches where hardy, twisty-stumped hawthorns are still growing today.

When the land was ready, the contractor’s bill for ploughing, harrowing, setting, spraying and baling the straw came to £120 for 22 acres; it would cost around €3,500 for similar work today.

From his home farm where 40 cows were milked, my father developed that outside block over time, growing potatoes, turnips, peas, oats and maize, and running a suckler herd and a bull beef herd, finishing steers off grass.

He kept evolving to make an economic return on a fragmented farm. Like his father before him, he valued taking on new methods and research and never shied away from experimenting.

He and many others were seen as ‘good’ farmers: they worked hard and produced food, often selling directly to local consumers.

Now, after rolling the first reseeded field with a multi-species sward on the farm, we look towards a different kind of experimentation, and I find myself revisiting the question of what is a ‘good’ farmer today.

Farmers have had an array of targets put in front of them over the past 10 years: tonnes of grass produced per Ha, kilos of milk solids per Ha; and a shift since 2018 towards more environmental measures.

On our farm we have embraced those measures: a contractor for LESS; clover swards established on over 10pc of the farm, with a further 15pc over-sown; high-EBI cows; protected urea; fencing waterways; and enhancing habitats with hundreds of new tree saplings.

Why then, do I feel like a criminal?

The recent exchanges between environmental groups and the dairy industry will go down as a destructive and toxic episode in a rocky relationship.

As a dairy farmer and Glanbia supplier, I have come out of the week feeling frustrated and scapegoated.

Farmers are being used as pawns in an effort by An Taisce to make a stand against government policy.

I fully acknowledge the role An Taisce play as an advocate for sustainable planning, but having listened to reasoning behind the appeal I have more questions than answers.

The cheese plant will diversify and increase the value of product produced, catering for milk coming from cows that are on the ground today as up to 12m litres of milk per week are already being diverted to other processors during peak.

It represents a 15pc increase in the milk pool for the processor at a time when peak capacity is under increasing pressure due to our predominantly grass-based system.

Farmers are not criminals: we operate within a very highly regulated framework with a paper trail for every animal, feed, fertiliser, contractor, medicine and spray.

We produce top-quality, nutrient-dense food with the lowest carbon footprint across the EU.

We are aware of our shortcomings and have shown incredible fortitude to respond to changes and work with policy.

In terms of water quality, the ASSAP have demonstrated how a collaborative effort can bring positive outcomes.

The scheme has worked on 190 priority areas where agricultural has impacted on water quality. There has been an astounding 96pc engagement from farmers, with over 5,000 actions for improvement commenced, ongoing or completed — at farmer’s expense.  

Surely this shows the huge willingness of farmers to stop water quality decline? Recall when the wider public were asked to contribute towards improving water infrastructure via a water tax — protests ensued!

Broadening of the ASSAP program to continue water quality actions at farm level is a priority, especially if the derogation is to be maintained.

In terms of biodiversity, every scrap of ineligible land, be it hedgerow, pond or scrub, has been excluded from BPS maps, resulting in zero incentive to develop or broaden existing species-rich areas on farms.

Labelling areas ineligible has devalued their worth and aided decline.

Looking at the 10,750 applications for the new REAP scheme, a five-fold over-subscription again demonstrates the appetite to engage positively with environmental objectives.

Ireland has twice the average EU level of non-productive ecological focus areas on farms and this natural capital must be quantified and supported.

Farmers are not criminals. We need to develop strong relationships with environmental organisations where trust can be built, allowing positive engagement and progress.

Farmers are proud of their resourcefulness, resilience and heritage.

The dairy industry has been built on sustainable foundations with grass at its core and the challenge now is how policy meets the growing global demand for high-quality, safe, nutrient-dense food while transitioning to a low-carbon economy.

‘Good’ farmers need to be supported and encouraged with a strong, science-based roadmap to aid this transition.

There is no room for complacency but neither is there time for division.

 

Gillian O’Sullivan farms with her husband Neil near Dungarvan, Co Waterford