Regulations ‘suffocating’ Irish dairy farming
DAIRY farmer Kevin Moran says the sector has changed since he started farming in Caherlistrane over ten years ago, with layers of regulations putting extra pressure on holdings in recent years.
Moran addressed the Irish Grassland Association (IGA) Dairy Conference in Cork this month, where he spoke of herd fertility, herd health, grass growth, and other matters.
Moran grew up on a farm in Claremorris and started out dairy farming in 2013, when he leased land from his uncle in Caherlistrane. He now keeps a herd of 260 cows on 105hectares.
“The last five years have been very good years overall. 2023 was very difficult, but ’21, ’22, ’24 and ’25 were good years,” offered Kevin Moran, who was named the 2016 FBD Young Farmer of the Year.
“Milk prices have dropped from 43c/litre to 38c/litre. It’s not surprising, that has always been the nature of it. In 2016, it was 22c/litre. Now, if milk is 33c/litre, it’s deemed to be bad.
“Broadly speaking, dairy farming has changed a lot since I got into it in 2013.......
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