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Short filmTranscript
00:00in Elfin Mart to find out why record cattle prices are good for some farmers
00:05but not for all. Stephen will be meeting a family investing in apples at a scale
00:11not seen before in Ireland. The growers that have been there before, it's served
00:15them well but time for change. And Ella is in cabin with a young woman determined
00:20to make her small farm work. I want to keep it small and I want to make sure
00:25that everything is sustainable in terms of just maintaining my own health, too.
00:49The average Irish person chomps their way through about 120 apples per year and we
00:55live in a near perfect climate for growing them. So far so good, right? Well,
01:00unfortunately not. Over 90% of the apples which we eat here in Ireland are imported.
01:06But one family-owned business wants to change that. The McCanns come from Armagh where
01:14they are long established. In 2021 they embarked on a massive expansion.
01:20They planted the largest eating apple orchard in Ireland, here in Tully Island, in the Boyne Valley,
01:29growing two of the most popular imported varieties, Galla and Golden Delicious.
01:34Kevin McCann is commercial director with the company.
01:40Tell me, why did you start growing them? Traditionally we were growing Bramley apples,
01:44Jannega red, Jannegold, Lestars. Great varieties but they're not what the Irish consumer desires.
01:49We looked at a lot of information in the marketplace and where we were going and we seen that the
01:56key to what the consumers want is Galla. We sourced the trees, got the land. I suppose in a
02:01winging a prayer, we got stuck in and thank God it's came to fruition now.
02:06There is a total of 130 acres of fruit planted here. Mostly apple trees but also some pear varieties.
02:15There's no point us planting a handful of acres here. We had to go out and plant large scale to be able to go to the retailers and say look we have X amount of volume here.
02:23This is what we're going to be growing. Import substitutes so the trucks aren't coming in from other European countries or further afield even the likes of New Zealand, Chile,
02:31South Africa because it's an environmentally friendly crop. How did you end up here though in the Boyne Valley?
02:37This actual area here in the Boyne Valley, when we purchased it it was actually described as a little heaven on a morning like this.
02:44I could see why. There's a microclimate here, the site's south facing, we're getting the maximum sun hours that we possibly can which is very very important to apples.
02:55We actually have the Maddock River flows through the site and that then flows on into the Boyne with the water
03:00we're actually getting frost protection as well. With imported varieties dominating the market
03:06here, the McCanns felt it was a case of if you can't beat them, join them. But taking on
03:13these global varieties has required a multi-million euro investment. To be honest, that was a massive
03:20gambling for us as a family. Call it nerves, call it ambition. We were confident and it's had its ups and downs and its challenges but
03:27when you see a crop on these trees like it is today, confidence is pouring out of us now to keep going at it.
03:34This orchard will produce roughly 2,000 tonnes of apples. It's achieved by planting at a very high density.
03:42The young trees are supported on a trellis system, allowing them to bear heavy fruit loads.
03:48Kevin's father, Oliver, has been in this business since his father, Patsy, set it up in 1968.
03:56Back then, things were done very differently.
03:59The orchards being planted in them days was 250, 300 trees to the acre. It would take quite a bit of time
04:06for them trees to mature and to fill in the gaps. As a rule of thumb, when you're growing wood, you're not growing fruit.
04:14Yeah. So, on today's plantations, you plant trees touching each other.
04:20Mm. Trees love companionship and the roots touch the roots of the trees beside it.
04:25Automatically, you get fruits straight away. This is the future of orchard growing Ireland.
04:32It is costly to get into. We have 1,300 trees per acre. A tree could cost you 10 euro.
04:40Mm. It's not hard to do the sums, right?
04:44Despite such costs, the McCanns felt that it was the only way they could provide a strong future for the business.
04:52Our own business was under pressure from the point of view of imports and things coming into the country.
04:57I said, this time, we're going to have to buy a farm, plant it.
05:01Because if we don't, what have we been doing all these years?
05:06Once harvested, the apples are brought to Armas City, where the McCanns have their processing plant.
05:13To handle the increased volume created by the Boyne Valley site, the company has had to significantly upgrade the facility.
05:21Bins are loaded in by the operative. Through the infeed tank, we remove any defective product that's not suitable for grading and packing.
05:28It travels up through this six-day and pre-sizing system, where there's literally 30 images of every single apple is taken.
05:35So that's a hell of a speed and a hell of a speed.
05:37I can see the flashes, so I can.
05:42The apples are sorted, and cameras inspect the fruit for things like discoloration.
05:46A sophisticated measuring system is used to identify the sugar content, ripeness, and any internal defects.
05:55As well as washing the apples, water is a gentle way of moving them through the system, preventing any bruising.
06:03Oliver McCann, Jr., is head of operations.
06:07Do you have enough apples to keep this going all year round?
06:11No. Our Irish season will last to March, and then we work on imported fruit from there through to the new season starts again.
06:18So we need to get enough trees in the ground to last the season 12 months of the year.
06:23The apples are only sorted and graded as orders come in from retailers.
06:28In the meantime, vast quantities are stored here for up to a year.
06:32So what are we looking at here?
06:34We're looking at about 300 tonne of gall apples that are picked up from Tully Island.
06:39The last few days they've went in.
06:41Now that store is completely sealed, so we actually can't go inside.
06:43The product is in there.
06:44That's now in hibernation, safe, locked down, temperature controlled.
06:47When you say low oxygen, what do you mean?
06:50Ultra low oxygen.
06:51The air we're breathing is 21% oxygen.
06:53Inside that room is 1% oxygen.
06:55Wow.
06:56So literally, we're just giving them a lifeline to keep going.
06:58Yeah.
06:59If we treat the correct atmosphere and the correct storage systems,
07:02we'll have product for as long as possible.
07:05The McCanns are currently looking at a number of other sites around the country
07:10to plant more orchards.
07:12And they believe that there is potential for other growers
07:16to adopt this model of production.
07:19We're in our fifth year now growing.
07:21We're over the moon with production.
07:22And hopefully we'll keep it going forward.
07:25We should be able to get our numbers up.
07:28We would love to see new entrants coming into the business as well,
07:31because there is a massive, massive scope.
07:33The growers that have been there before, it's served them well,
07:36but time for change.
07:38Yeah.
07:39It's a big, big investment.
07:40It's 50 years to build it and five minutes to lose it in our heads.
07:45But we have to grow this business further,
07:47and the fire's in our belly to do that.
07:49That's it for part one.
07:55Coming up after the break,
07:56a young farmer leading by example in County Cavan.
07:59I have found that the next generation is so intrigued,
08:04and they're always reaching out on social media.
08:07And I'll be finding out why these guys are so valuable.
08:20Irish consumers don't need to be told that food prices are continuing to rise here.
08:25The cost of beef is no exception.
08:28In the year to the end of October,
08:30sirloin steak saw a price hike of almost 23%.
08:35At least part of this can be traced back to what's been happening
08:39at livestock marts across the country.
08:42The massive increase in beef prices over the last year
08:45has caught many by surprise.
08:47In fact, it's lasted so long that many are beginning to wonder
08:50if this isn't just a spike rather than a long overdue reset.
08:54Which is great for the farmers selling,
08:57but challenging for every other link in the chain.
09:00It's a wet morning here at Elfin Mart in County Roscommon.
09:04And we're coming to the end of what's been a bumper season
09:07for farmers and auctioneers alike.
09:10Gerry Conlon and his son Donal from Kilcock in County Mead
09:14are here today to sell six weanlings.
09:17If everything goes well, these animals will fetch anywhere between 2,000 and 2,500 euros each.
09:27What could you have reasonably expected last year?
09:29Oh, it's phenomenal. I think last year we were 1,200.
09:32So definitely a lot healthier this year, 100%.
09:35Amazing turnaround in the trade.
09:38It's 20 years too late for me, but maybe not for Don.
09:42Yeah.
09:43Elfin Mart is one of the busiest in the country.
09:46It attracts buyers and sellers from all over
09:49and is particularly popular with cattle exporters
09:52because of its large animal holding facilities.
09:55Ciaran Lynch is the mark manager.
09:59For me this time last year, like you know, it's just huge money.
10:03It's massive money.
10:04I mean, we're talking millions changing hands here in that ring.
10:08In a day. In a day.
10:09You're talking maybe over a million every day.
10:11That's every day.
10:12This is like the Vegas of Ireland.
10:14Something like that, yeah.
10:15It is, but look, it's just a game we're in.
10:17It's just the way the job has gone and that's it.
10:19In simple economic terms, this is all about supply and demand.
10:24Ten years ago, the national beef herd here stood at one million animals.
10:30Today, due largely to older farmers leaving the sector
10:33and policies around reducing numbers to meet emissions targets,
10:37that figure is closer to 750,000.
10:41Nevan McKiernan is a livestock journalist with the Irish Farmers Journal.
10:46That's left us with a situation now where there's less cattle coming on stream.
10:49You can see them pens getting emptier and emptier year around year.
10:53So that's creating more competition in the market.
10:56The fear is that this is a bubble. What do you think?
10:59In the short to medium term, no, it's not.
11:02This is not just an Irish thing. This is across Europe.
11:05Production across Europe is down.
11:07And we're going to see that over the next five to six years.
11:10It's very difficult to see how prices are going to go down.
11:13Demand from the booming live cattle export sector is another factor driving price increases.
11:22Last year, we hit a 20-year high with almost 380,000 animals exported,
11:28mainly to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
11:32Roscommon-based Derek Maxwell exports around 25,000 cattle every year.
11:38One of his regular customers is Italian farmer Filippo Canile,
11:43who buys up to 300 animals every month.
11:47You're the customer for Irish cattle farmers.
11:50Beef price has doubled at the ring here in the last 12 months.
11:55What does that mean for you?
11:57It's not easy for me, this situation.
12:00But my customer, I know the situation in Europe or in the world.
12:05It's very difficult to find the meat for cheap price.
12:08But I need the quality, you know.
12:10We had 20 years with no inflation.
12:13The last 12 months, the last 24 months, you could say,
12:16we've seen a big change.
12:18But as far as I can remember, before that cattle were nearly always the same price.
12:22Are we at the peak or can this continue?
12:25Who knows?
12:27I thought we were at the peak last April, last May.
12:31But it seems to keep going and we just have to move with it.
12:35But I don't see it going back to what it was 24 months ago.
12:39So what about those buyers who are purchasing young animals to fatten
12:43and then sell on to processors?
12:46Within the sector, profit margins are shrinking
12:49as purchase prices at marts continue to rise,
12:52while feed and energy costs are also more expensive.
12:56As part of his business, Donegal farmer Andrew Norris
13:00finishes around 400 animals every year.
13:03It's not about what we get for the beef, like at the minute.
13:07It's about what we have left over whenever we have the 400 stores back in again
13:11to go next year.
13:12And like, I'm sitting and looking at cattle coming nicely there now
13:15and they're doing well.
13:16But I'm already worried about how I'm going to replace them
13:18because of the way the thing is that the market's like.
13:20For the system that I'm in, there's a lot of costs in that,
13:22like for keeping them cattle for a year
13:24and everything that goes along with it.
13:26Like vaccinating and dosing and doing everything that goes along with it.
13:28But it's small margins for the amount of money that's invested.
13:31There's no way that I would be able to be.
13:33It's myself and my brother and my cousin that works together here.
13:37And there's no way that the three of us would be able to live off finishing 400 cattle.
13:40It just wouldn't happen like.
13:42Three years ago, the price paid by factories to finishers like Andrew
13:46was five euros a kilo.
13:48Today, it's just short of eight euros.
13:51Being the last link in this chain, the consumer inevitably ends up paying more
13:56for their steak and mince.
13:58Conor Loughnan is a lecturer in economics at University College Cork.
14:04I think this is the new norm.
14:06I think the era of cheap food is coming to an end.
14:09With the way policy is changing now and we see less supply in the market,
14:14it's hard to see how that price will shift back down.
14:17And also when we have these high prices for the farmers and the processors,
14:22that has to be collected somewhere so they can't take a loss on that.
14:25So the chances of the price slipping back in the short term are minimal.
14:30I would say prices likely to continue to rise in the foreseeable future.
14:35Who's the real winner here?
14:36It's hard to say because the farmers are getting a better price now
14:40for their stock that they're selling, but they're also having to pay a greater price
14:43to replace that stock that's already exited the farm.
14:46The processors have to give more to the farmer, but they're also receiving more.
14:51So it's just basically a shift in the price equilibrium to another price point.
14:57But ultimately buying and selling cattle is a gamble.
15:02On the day, bad weather meant that livestock boats weren't travelling,
15:06meaning less demand from exporters and driving down prices somewhat.
15:10But Gerry and Donald weren't complaining. It's still a big improvement on previous years.
15:19What's the average?
15:21The average price per head is €2,800.
15:24Not a bad result, but a little bit shy of maybe where you were hoping.
15:28Absolutely, but you have to take what you get on the day.
15:31What about you, Donald? What's your take on it?
15:33Yeah, absolutely. No, it's solid enough. You couldn't be complaining about them figures.
15:36Is that the end of the sales for you for this year?
15:38No, I have another sale here this day week.
15:40Another bite of the cherry?
15:42Another bite.
15:43Just over 4% of farmholders in Ireland are under the age of 35.
15:53One such person is Sophie Bell, and I've come here to her farm in Cavan
15:58to find out how optimistic she feels about her future on the land.
16:0427-year-old Sophie Bell grew up on this farm,
16:08but moved to the UK to study agricultural science after school.
16:12She came back with new ideas and a determination to make the farm work for her.
16:19Until three years ago, Sophie's father raised beef cattle here.
16:23But Sophie wanted change, so she now operates a farm
16:27where she doesn't own any of the livestock she rears.
16:32When I finished university in 2021, I decided I don't think there's a future for us
16:38on this farm if we don't change the system.
16:41So I'm contract rearing dairy heifers for another local dairy farmer.
16:46It allows us to be paid a monthly rate and we know what that is.
16:50So it's really helpful for us because we're a small farm and it's very hard to rely on prices
16:55that aren't decided for us if we were in beef or dairy.
16:58So this is like a bed and breakfast basically for the cows?
17:03Yeah, essentially yes. And we're just rearing the next generation in the best way we can for the farmer.
17:10Sophie runs this 56-acre farm in partnership with her father, Henry.
17:15They both have full-time off-farm jobs.
17:20Sophie is in the civil service and Henry is a lorry driver.
17:24Their situation is common around Ireland where 54% of farms are under 60 acres in size
17:32and 42% of farmers have an off-farm income because the land cannot support them full-time.
17:39You're not solely dependent on this farm for your income. Is that some help?
17:44It is a help, yeah, because I can just rely on that wage to sustain my own living.
17:51With the farm that can be separated and I can use that to invest back into the farm.
17:56So the farm wouldn't be as viable as it is if I was taking a wage from it.
18:02So all the profits from the farm at the moment are going back into the farm to reinvest?
18:06Yes, and I think that's the situation for a lot of farmers.
18:09Not many take a living wage from it. For a lot of farmers it's just a way of life.
18:16It certainly is a way of life for Sophie.
18:20On the weekend she's up early to milk cows for local farmers.
18:26And when she's not working on the farm she manages her social media.
18:34It's far removed from the days when Henry worked this land on his own.
18:39Hello Henry. How are you doing? How are you doing?
18:41Alright. You fixing there?
18:43Trying my best, yes. Trying your best, yeah.
18:46You look very similar.
18:49That's good.
18:52Has the farm been in your family for long?
18:54Over 60 years anyway.
18:56My mother and my father had it and then my father died and then my mother had it then.
19:02And she transferred it over when I was 27.
19:06I wonder how you feel about the future here. You're still a young man yourself.
19:12Thanks.
19:15Sophie's sure to continue on and build it up better and make an improvement.
19:21Yeah.
19:22You need to be all the time thinking ahead.
19:24And Sophie has that thing that you've never had which is social media.
19:28Yeah.
19:30And the potential income from social media as well.
19:32Yes.
19:33It's an interesting part of farming with young farmers in particular isn't it?
19:35Yes.
19:36That would help too to increase profits and sustain farming.
19:41Sophie's social media channels generate income for the farm and give her the chance to road test new products.
19:47It's really helped the farm along. We've had GPS on the tractor and we've had different products such as worm testing kits and various things like that that we might not always have been able to consider on the farm.
20:03But as a result of that it's helped bring it along so much more.
20:08Sophie as a young female farmer is part of a very small but important cohort when it comes to the future of farming both here and across Europe.
20:19In Ireland, 87% of farmers are men and the average age is 59 years old.
20:27In your area, your local community here of farmers, what are you seeing with the next generation coming through?
20:32I am seeing a lot of motivation and a lot of young people coming along and introducing some really fabulous ideas on farm and in terms of business as well.
20:44But I am seeing also a lot of people moving away because it's just so difficult.
20:50But I have found that the next generation is so intrigued and they're always reaching out on social media as well especially a lot of young farmers especially women.
21:01And I went back to my old school where I spoke to the fifth class. It's a very small school and there was ten young girls who were wanting to pursue a career in agriculture which is great to see.
21:14Until five years ago, Sophie's mother Stephanie did a lot of the farm work here until Sophie took on more responsibility.
21:23It's great that she's taken on my role there because he would probably listen to her an awful lot more than he ever listened to me.
21:30So I know it doesn't happen everywhere. So I mean it is sort of like with great pride that she is able to handle the farm and just keep everything so much under control.
21:43Do you think that's true? Do you have control of your father?
21:45Yes. Most of the time. You're getting there. You're getting there. Yeah. It's been really important clearly that she's in partnership with her father.
21:56Yeah. So there is that clear path.
21:58Yeah. Because I think in an awful lot of farms you can just be working.
22:03Working and waiting.
22:04Working and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and then there's still sort of that doubt whether you're just waiting in vain.
22:11So I think it's great to be clear on what actually is happening.
22:15Sophie's made some significant decisions in order to keep this farm viable. But she's also conscious of ensuring that she herself can continue to farm long into the future.
22:28I would love to just keep the farm as it is. I don't want to be farming hundreds of animals and pushing myself to that limit.
22:37I want to keep it small and I want to make sure that everything's sustainable in terms of social life, in terms of labour and, you know, just maintaining my own health too.
22:48I think that's always something I want to play part of this whole journey. So fingers crossed that remains an option.
22:56That's it for this week. Next week on Near to the Ground, Stephen brings us a reminder of last summer on a glorious day for harvesting.
23:09This year has kind of been perfect for us to get, you know, decent crops. Like we had rain when we needed it and we got sunshine when we needed it as well.
23:15Ella is on the trail of one of Ireland's most deadly invasive species.
23:20Lurg, mink. So you just have to go quite a pace to keep up with them.
23:25And I'll be meeting a Wicklow alpaca farmer.
23:28I don't have a farming background really, so this is still a steep learning curve.
23:32You know, I'm trying to see how do I make the farm work and earn its keep.
23:36Good girl. Oh!
23:39Don't forget this program will be repeated on Sunday at lunchtime after the farming weather.
23:44You can contact us on Facebook and follow us on X.
23:48And you can hear more farming stories on Countrywide this Saturday morning on RTE Radio 1.
24:14The
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