Uphill battle

I was once told by a senior advisor, who was also a farmer, that he wasn’t worried about losing the services of a contractor, because as one goes out of business, another starts up. With that kind of thinking it is no wonder it has always been an uphill battle to get those who set agricultural policies and targets to be concerned about the strength and stability of the contracting sector.
Some time ago, following a survey of agricultural contractors conducted by Teagasc, its authors Tom Ryan and John McNamara said that farmers should value the services provided by contractors: “A good working relationship with your contractor will be crucial to the long-term viability of farming into the future,” they said. Wise words but, unfortunately, not heeded. They also confirmed, in that survey, that 80 per cent of heavy machinery work on farms is carried out by contractors. It seems inconceivable that our policymakers choose to ignore all this evidence. Ireland is very fortunate to have such dedicated professional agricultural contractors who, along with their families, take the risk of investing in unbelievably high-cost machinery, that farmers could never afford to buy themselves. Their input into farm production plays no small part in feeding the nation and contributes to Ireland’s exports, both directly and through the food-processing sector.
I welcome that farmers receive assistance in the bad years for whatever the circumstances may be. But why is it so impossible for our bureaucrats to offer any similar assistance to agricultural contractors. If the farmer cannot work his land, then his contractor doesn’t work either. However, they still must make their banks or finance repayments out of a considerably reduced turnover.
Some may say I am unmannerly by having a go at the bureaucrats, but I’ll live with that if it helps them to consider the stark reality that agricultural contractors, as well as farmers can lose everything if they cannot pay their bills because of events outside their control.
As in previous budgets, the recent budget – presumably through lack of any briefing from the DAFM – saw agricultural contracting businesses denied access to grants available to farmers for safety equipment. Once again, their vital role has been overlooked and this action proves they don’t give a Scooby Doo for the safety of agricultural contractors.
Could the DAFM still be unaware that agricultural contractors do most of the machinery work on farms? I venture to say the DAFM has little or no information on the agricultural contracting sector that farmers are so reliant on. It is now time for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to commission an official survey of agricultural contracting businesses to ascertain their financial wellbeing, succession plans, and establish a register of professional agricultural contractors. This should have tax revenue benefits and allow contractors access to all grants for machinery that are currently only available to farmers. Agricultural contracting must be brought under the umbrella of the DAFM and away from the Department of Enterprise where nobody has a clue what an agricultural contractor is.