Limerick farmers in struggle for staff - good men and women hard to find
TWO OUT of three Irish farmers are finding it difficult to secure sufficient labour for their farms, a new survey from FRS Farm Relief has revealed.
While three out of four farmers agree that it is difficult to find labour with the skills they require for their farms.
These figures also come as FRS warns that there may be challenges in attracting sufficient farm labour in 2023 - given the limited number of permits being provided to the sector, the move towards full employment in the economy and rising costs.
These results come from the first comprehensive survey on Irish farming attitudes to labour needs. Responses were collected from 252 farms all over the country by independent market research company, Opinions, on behalf of FRS Farm Relief, supported by FBD Trust.
Colin Donnery, Group CEO of FRS Network, said this is the first time a survey of this detail on farm labour has been undertaken and these are “startling figures”.
“To have so many farmers finding the situation so difficult this year should come as an eye opener to anyone who is concerned about the productivity of Irish agriculture and the welfare of the Irish farming community.
“Unfortunately this situation is unlikely to improve in the short term. FRS Farm Relief is forecasting an even more challenging year for farm labour in 2023.” said Mr Donnery, who referred to six out of 10 farmers already feeling the pressure on their work / life balance.
“And one in three unwilling to recommend farming as a lifestyle to their families and friends, these are clearly challenging times for Irish farming.
“The survey highlights Irish farms already need support when it comes to hoof care, operating machinery, milking, cow pregnancy scanning and artificial insemination. These needs are likely to grow in the face of the new emission requirements that have been introduced, creating more demands on Irish farmers.
“FRS Farm Relief has recently announced our efforts to grow our panel of farm workers by 300 over the course of the next 12 months and we hope this will help alleviate some of the pressure on the farms we work with. We already maintain a panel of 1,200 farm operatives supporting 5,000 farms across Ireland,” said Mr Donnery.
However, if these challenges are going to be addressed then there will have to be concerted action from the Government to increase the supply of farm labour and to ensure there is sufficient labour available for farms all over Ireland that need it, he concluded.
Other findings from the survey were that four out of five Irish farmers believe the “Green Agenda” will have a negative impact on the viability of their farms and six out of 10 say they will require more external labour on farms to address new emissions reductions.
97% of Irish farmers agreed that leaving their farm in safe hands when they were not there was a priority; 91% cited access to peak time (spring / summer) labour support; 90% wanted access to qualified / vetted labour and 83% to improve expertise in the area of on farm sustainability.
One in two farmers also said they were willing to provide increased premiums/ higher hour rates to secure consistent, qualified labour.