Longford Leader Farming: Rising costs are biggest challenge facing farmers
Rising costs are the biggest challenge facing farmers according to an annual Farm Report conducted by ifac, Ireland’s farming, food and agribusiness specialist professional services firm.
Given that 51% have already seen costs increase due to Brexit, 60% of Irish farmers say the biggest concern for their business for 2022 is increased input costs that are currently impacting all the primary farm inputs including fertiliser, feed and energy.
Ifac’s fourth annual Irish farm survey, contained in the report, reveals what is really on the minds of Irish farmers - the opportunities and the challenges they are facing across rural Ireland.
Finding and retaining employees has become a challenge for many – 21% say it’s a big concern, particularly in the dairy sector. 1 in 3 beef farmers are struggling to balance farming with their off-farm job and, across the board, 77% of farmers say they would hire non-EU people with the right skills.
With the UN warning of a climate tipping point on emissions, encouragingly, farmers are not shying away from sustainability or the gravity of the environmental challenges ahead. While some are understandably concerned about the additional cost burden (38%) and even more (40%) believe that other sectors need to play their part too, 94% of farmers believe in the need to reduce greenhouse gas on farms.