Farming « Thurles Information

CAP Conference At The Tipperary Institute

The Common Agricultural Policy is worth over €1 billion to the Irish economy in purely financial terms, but it is possibly three times that figure when the jobs created by this money are taken into account, stated Labour MEP Alan Kelly addressing the CAP Conference organised today at the Tipperary Institute.

He further stated:-
“The new CAP must ensure the competitiveness of Irish agriculture, seek to reduce regulation and be linked to job creation in rural areas. However, to achieve this we must start the debate now as it will be the major issue in European Union circles shortly.”

IFA President John Bryan said farmers expect the Government to strongly defend the record of the CAP, and insist on a fully-funded budget post-2013.

Mr Bryan stated:
“Price and income volatility in agriculture has increased greatly since the 2003 CAP reform, with the decoupling of payments from production, and greater exposure to an increasingly liberalised and unregulated world market. This is threatening the viability of the European family farm structure and must be addressed urgently. EU policymakers must learn from the experiences of the last few years and amend the CAP structures appropriately to counteract market volatility and protect farm families. EU food security can only be achieved through promoting policies that secure the production of sustainable, high-quality food produced in Europe for its consumers. The CAP provides 500 million European consumers with a guaranteed supply of food. The sector employs over 40 million people and production is carried out in a sustainable way that protects the land, the environment and animal welfare. While Irish and European food is renowned for its quality, food prices have actually lagged well behind general inflation, largely as a result of financial supports provided by CAP to farmers.”

He further stated that the CAP post 2013 must:

* Retain the Single Farm Payment at its current level;
* The Single Farm Payment must be directed at supporting active farmers, on a historical basis as currently operates;
* Rural Development Funding must remain a co-financing commitment;
* Separately funded and effective market support and management measures;
* Simplified payment and cross compliance systems.

Grow It Yourself And Organic Beef

Next meeting of GIY (Grow It Yourself) Thurles will be held on Thursday next, March 11th, at 7.00pm in the Thurles Library building, The Source, Cathedral Street, Thurles.

As we have now officially entered into Spring, it’s time to start thinking again about growing our own vegetables.
With St Patrick ’s Day approaching fast, don’t forget to set your early potatoes.

Tipperary Organic Food

The GIY networks team aim to take the ‘self’ out of ‘self-sufficiency’ by getting garden growers together on a regular basis to chat and learn the tips of the trade from one another.

Note: The meetings are free and open to people interested in food production at all levels, e.g. from growing a few herbs on the balcony to complete self-sufficiency for beginners as well as old hands.

For more information on the GIY Network visit www.giyireland.com

And talking about healthy food, congratulations to “Omega Beef Direct“ in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, who won an environmental award for its sustainable farming and production methods.

Joe and Eileen Condon’s organic farm is close to the Knockmealdown mountains here in Co Tipperary and they scooped their top prize in this years annual food awards presented by the Irish Food Writers Guild, Dublin.
This is the 16th year of the awards, which seek to promote the highest quality of produce, and craftsmanship.

All Financial Institutions And Property Developers Take Note

Michael Ryan bought a donkey from Tom Dunne, a Tipperary farmer, for €100. Rather than walk him the 7.5 miles of treacherous pot holed road home, Tom agreed to deliver the donkey the very next day, in his horse box.

Sure enough, the next day our Tom drove up the lane to Michael’s home, looking very distressed.

“Michael“, said he, “Sure I’m sorry, but I have some very bad news, plain truth is, your donkey’s dead.”

Michael shook his head, “Sure no harm done, it could be worse” said he ” Just give me my money back.”

Tom said, ” Well Michael you see that’s the problem, I can’t do that. Truth is, I’ve already spent it and my bank won’t give me a loan.”

Michael though for a moment and then said, “Listen don’t worry about it, just give me my dead donkey.”

Tom replied, “Sure no problem, but what use is a dead donkey, what do you plan to do with him?”

Michael said: “Begod, I’m going to raffle him off.”

Tom replied, “You can’t raffle a dead donkey!”

Michael replied, “Sure I can. Just watch me…..Sure I just won’t inform anybody he’s dead.”

A month passed, and Tom met up with Michael again at the calf sale in Thurles Mart.

“Michael do you mind telling me what happened afterwards with that unfortunate dead donkey I sold you?” asked Tom curiously.

Michael, with a rye grin, said, ” Sure I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at €2.00 a piece and made a profit of €898. Now that’s taking into account the €100 I lost in my foolish dealings with you.”

Tom was amazed , “But didn’t anyone complain?” said he.

“Sure they did, but it was only the guy who won. So to be fair and honest I gave him his two euros back.” said Michael, with a knowing nod of his head.

Speaking recently to Michael, Thurles.Info understands he is being headhunted for various positions on the Board’s of A.I.B., National Irish Bank, Bank Of Ireland, and NAMA. He admits he has already, after much thought and many sleepless nights, refused an offer to run for Fianna Fáil in the next Dublin South by-election.

Michael, however refused to be drawn further, when we attempted to link him with the names of ten very well known Irish property developers. Ah yes, but then our Michael is no ass.

By the way, please note, all characters named in this true story, are purely fictitious and any resemblance to living persons in Thurles, or indeed County Tipperary as a whole, are truly accidental.

Meanwhile, we ask the ever growing question, ” Are we as a country looking to solve our financial problems in the right way?”

Tipperary Agriculture Offices Begin Closure.

Fifteen Departments of this countries Agricultural offices are to shut by the end of April as part of the governments ongoing rationalisation programme, which were announced last year.

Agriculture offices at Nenagh, Clonmel, Thurles, will now close in April, with responsibility to transfer to Tipperary town in the case of all of the Tipperary offices.

Countrywide, the reorganisation when fully implemented will deliver annual savings of €30 million, mainly in staff costs, resulting in a reduction of 400 staff, latter which are to be deployed elsewhere.

In relation to the resignation of Junior Minister Trevor Sargent today, the Brendan Smith TD Minister for Agriculture Fisheries and Food, acknowledged the very significant contribution that Trevor Sargent has made since his appointment as Minister of State for Food and Horticulture in 2007, both to the work of the Department generally and the organic and horticulture sectors in particular.

O’Dwyer Steel Tipperary Diversifying

Presently demand for agricultural sheds and other farm buildings are in poor demand in rural Ireland these days, but this has not dampened the efforts of agricultural shed manufacturers O’Dwyer Steel, one of Ireland’s leading structural steel engineering businesses, situated in Dundrum village in County Tipperary.

The company have just completed the construction of a large animal compound, including swimming pool, animal accommodation and lifting equipment, for Dublin’s zoo elephant population.

As part of its new diversification program the company is also currently building a new farm in the heart of ‘the big smoke’, also at Dublin city zoo in Phoenix Park, Dublin 8.

This project will involve the construction of a miniature farmyard, to give Dublin urban-ites a true taste of farm life as experienced in everyday rural Ireland.

Milk just doesn’t appear in wax containers as some urban dwellers believe.