High grain prices affect Irish farmers
More contracts and re-evaluation of products will be needed to safeguard the Irish feed industry, said David Hickey of R and H Hall, Ireland’s biggest importer and supplier of animal feed ingredients.
He told the ICOS Dairy Conference that prices for most
ingredients have increased significantly in the past year, due to global market
swings. Prices for import into Ireland have gone up 46% for corn gluten, 65% for
palm kernel, 33% for US maize distillers, 43% for citrus, 41% for EU rapeseed,
10.4% for soy bean, 28% for barley and 24% for wheat, said Mr Hickey.
ingredients have increased significantly in the past year, due to global market
swings. Prices for import into Ireland have gone up 46% for corn gluten, 65% for
palm kernel, 33% for US maize distillers, 43% for citrus, 41% for EU rapeseed,
10.4% for soy bean, 28% for barley and 24% for wheat, said Mr Hickey.
The high prices for grain won’t be all bad news for livestock farmers in
Ireland, according to one of Ireland’s top tillage farmers, Jim McCarthy.
He
agreed that the consumption of wheat is going to rocket in the coming years,
taking grain prices to new highs. However, the gains that Irish farmers get
from a grain boom will be limited, because land prices are far too high and
“commercial agriculture is frowned upon in the European Union.”
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(Source: irishexaminer.com)
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