Ear to the Ground: New Zealand produces 4 times the amount of milk we do!

[parentheses]

I'm surprised its only 4 times more milk than we produce.

However Ireland has been in a milk quota regime since i think 1983. If it wasn't for that we would be producing probably twice as much as we actually produce.

[Analyzer]

Sorry, can you revisit this, please?

Haven't a clue what you are getting at.

Sorry. A bit tired. Corrected that now, to make it easier to understand.

[Pudna]

There was no mention of the distance that exists between NZ and her nearest market.

That programme made for interesting viewing I have to say.

It had some interesting information imo but it missed as many relevant points as it included.........for example the costs of feeding over the winter period in Ireland...this probably dwarves the cost of irrigation, our animal rights people would be quite busy in New Zealand though.....lots of things to be outraged about.

[wombat]

They are also protected from competition such as Brazilian beef.

Remember Brazilian beef production is unregulated, whatever you're having yourself regarding dope, to say nothing about silly old rain forest or Indians that live therein.

[Schuhart]

Subsides are not the problem, they are there to compensate for keeping food prices lower than they would be otherwise/.

I'm sorry, that's just the current bit of delusion that the IFA are peddling. Its patent nonsense - the subsidies are for farmers, to prevent consumers from simply getting the stuff from cheaper suppliers.

The IFA's propaganda has been comprehensively refuted on another thread:
Coveney Swallows IFA propaganda

Rural Communities in NZ have full employment thanks to agriculture, and it seems that, rather than helping farming, the EU subsidies had hindered it. If only the Dairy farmers in this country knew.....farmers are properly the most Pro-EU of the Irish people, so if they see how the EU is hindering us......

Certainly, the CAP prevents farm land from being used for the best purpose. But, in fairness, a market-led approach would mean far fewer farmers - as farms would have to consolidate into larger units. I'm not saying that I think that would be a bad thing - I just think its fair to bring that out. The reason the current cohort of farmers support the CAP is because most of them wouldn't be in the business without it.

There's a lot of people that comment on the way New Zealand and Ireland are similar, but when it comes to agriculture, we are nowhere near their league.

In fairness, there's a lot of misinformation about Irish agriculture out there. I'd wonder if anyone can answer the following questions, which I'd regard as giving an indication to whether someone really has a strategic view of the sector:

What percentage of total EU/EEA agricultural output Ireland accounts for?

Is the value of our agricultural produce is higher or lower than the UK, and by what factor?

What percentage of total EU/EEA output is accounted for by the five highest agricultural producing countries?

Can you name those five countries?

Is Ireland one of them?

How many EU/EEA countries have a higher agricultural output than Ireland?

What EU/EEA countries have a similar value of agricultural production to Ireland?

I'll post the answers up tomorrow - but I'll be interested in anyone even attempts to answer them.

[drummed]

Utter nonsense. The payments are so the farmers stay within the quotas and therefore keeping prices above a market equilibrium. Did you study at the Marc Coleman school of economics?

There are no payments to stay in quota. You just don't get paid for the excess. That keeps a lid on things.
Average production per cow is about 60% of irelands output. It works on big numbers producing small amounts.
What i saw on the show all rings true. But, the society and culture is very different and you can't seperate the two.
Some of the enviromental and animal welfare practices are dubious but if people want to go down this road i'd say 90% of irish farmers would be happy enough. The consumers might not be as happy as the farmers long term.

[Analyzer]

They might beat us with respect to the production of milk, but i am confident that this plucky little country of ours can sure "punch above it's weight" in the production of bullsh!t.....

[Astral Peaks]

As opposed to an establishment apologist like yourself.

Christ, I wish I was. I would love to have a PS pension and a nice sinecure apologising for the establishment, whatever that is?

Get real man, I am an ordinary person, just hate to see sloganeering and delusional ignorance of the facts.

[Toman13]

I'm sorry, that's just the current bit of delusion that the IFA are peddling. Its patent nonsense - the subsidies are for farmers, to prevent consumers from simply getting the stuff from cheaper suppliers.

The IFA's propaganda has been comprehensively refuted on another thread:
Coveney Swallows IFA propagandaCertainly, the CAP prevents farm land from being used for the best purpose. But, in fairness, a market-led approach would mean far fewer farmers - as farms would have to consolidate into larger units. I'm not saying that I think that would be a bad thing - I just think its fair to bring that out. The reason the current cohort of farmers support the CAP is because most of them wouldn't be in the business without it.In fairness, there's a lot of misinformation about Irish agriculture out there. I'd wonder if anyone can answer the following questions, which I'd regard as giving an indication to whether someone really has a strategic view of the sector:

What percentage of total EU/EEA agricultural output Ireland accounts for?

Is the value of our agricultural produce is higher or lower than the UK, and by what factor?

What percentage of total EU/EEA output is accounted for by the five highest agricultural producing countries?

Can you name those five countries?

Is Ireland one of them?

How many EU/EEA countries have a higher agricultural output than Ireland?

What EU/EEA countries have a similar value of agricultural production to Ireland?

I'll post the answers up tomorrow - but I'll be interested in anyone even attempts to answer them.

In all fairness, I missed half the programme, and I'll have to watch it again later: Just thought that I'd point it out. And there may be less farmers, but the bigger farmers could employ people, and I was suggesting that it needs to be done to dairy farmers: There's a need for the Farmers in the North-West, but dairy farmers really should be able to handle it without subsidies.

[parentheses]

A country 4 times the size of this state produces 4 times as much milk. Shocking.

Probably the real shocker is that Holland, half our size,and with lots of urbanisation, produces twice as much milk as Ireland. And they have been constrained by milk quota since the 80s.