Ireland always looks abroad

The largest export for Ireland is its agricultural output, including dairy. David Kennedy, head of dairy, talks to Suzanne Christiansen about its progress.

Bord Bia is the Irish government agency responsible for marketing of the food the country produces, and of which more than 90 per cent is exported. Of this, dairy is a primary export product, with Bord Bia working to “shine a light on the positive story around food production,” notes David Kennedy, the head of dairy at Bord Bia. “We have 45,000 Irish dairy farmers in our schemes, and everyone is a Bord Bia member.”

In exports, there has been a 24 per cent increase since 2019, up to €16.3 billion. This number breaks down to €5.8 billion to the rest of the EU, while the UK takes €5.6 billion in Irish exports, and the rest of world amounts to €4.9 billion. History, says Kennedy, has been interesting for Ireland. Over the past 200 years, the country has gone from not producing enough food to feed its people and being a cause of economic migration globally, to exporting around 95 per cent of the food it produces. “Ireland is the second highest food secure country after Finland, and because the industrial revolution never happened here, it has protected the agricultural industry, and we are reaping the benefits now,” he comments.

For agriculture in general and dairy in particular, Ireland’s system is firmly a family farm dairy structure, with about 90 cows per farm average on the 16,500 farms in the country. These farms produce about 99.9% of the milk total, or 8.458 billion litres yearly, from 1.51 million cows, and account for around 53,930 jobs in the country. “We try and keep the cows outdoors for as long as possible through the year, and work closely with farmers and processors to reduce carbon emissions production per kilogram. We try to be first in sustainable food production, and our customers have hugely ambitious reduction targets, and this drives a preference for Irish sourcing. We have cooperatives based all over the country, and provide milk to all the big processors, from Arrabawn, Aurivo, Carbery and Dairygold, to Kerry and Lakeland.

 

Ten years on

A decade ago, the European Union removed the 30-year old quotas on milk production. Kennedy notes, “Irish processors said, we will process whatever milk you bring to us. There were huge investments on farm to serve the processing, and milk collections grew to 8.8 billion litres per year in 2022, which was an increase of 57 per cent versus 2014. There were massive capital infrastructures, and Ireland grew much faster than other outputs, with 1.6 million tonnes of supply available each year in global markets. There has been investment in core capabilities, including butter, and we have seen success with this additional milk available and processed. We exported to over 130 markets in 2023.”

Its neighbour island continues to be a big importer of Irish dairy, Kennedy says. “The UK is a very important market, with 16 per cent going to the UK, while 36 per cent heads to the EU. For UK customers, volume supplies have been maintained. They see Irish as local, with great value and consistency. Meanwhile, there has been significant growth in Europe, and the US, where Kerrygold is now the number one imported branded butter, in both Germany and the US.

“Overall, there is a strong portfolio of products available in Ireland,” he continues. “We have a reputation with trade buyers as agile, and we position ourselves as partners to them. There is a great quality of consistency from Ireland.”

In other dairy products, 400 million tons per year of milk powders are exported from Ireland, and this number remains consistent, even post-Brexit, Kennedy points out. An additional 43,000 tonnes has also been produced and sent abroad, with its export footprint growing by 12 per cent.

Indeed, the segment continues its growth path. He states, “A number of our companies are investing. For example, there has been the €40 million investment by Ornua at Kerrygold Park. There has been significant investment in stainless steel and infrastructure. These are all adding value to rural economies in Ireland. Overall, there is more interest in sustainability interventions, low carbon sourcing, along with robust data sets, with huge demands on lower carbon emissions for the agricultural sector across Europe, and Kennedy says the Irish are supporting that. “We have to play the game in front of us, and be more responsive to customer needs – there is the ecosystem driving that approach.”

 

Made to measure

One auditing programme is Origin Green Ireland, which showcases how Ireland is one of the most sustainable places in the world to produce food and drink, it says. So far, 11,000 of the 16,000 farms are regularly audited every 18 months. “Measurements are taken, and we deliver feedback report on how they performed versus their peers, neighbours, then offer training and guidance to help the farmers do better, and to measure and reach the targets. This is all independently audited. It positions Irish suppliers to do that better than anyone else in the world. The assessments look at various aspects, including manure, feed, grazing and biodiversity. On average, there is a nine per cent reduction in emissions from dairy members, with more than 7800 farmers registered on the farm sustainability learning hub. Over 90 per cent are using clover, and the programme is designed with global best practice in mind. We employ the SAI Platform along with the Dairy Sustainability Framework.

“What we are finding with sustainable nutrition, is there is more demand for sustainable products globally, from consumers and buyers. Around 59 per cent of consumers are making the effort to be more aware, 78 per cent to reduce food waste, and 47 per cent are trying to reduce their carbon footprint. Tangible sustainability is becoming more important to consumers, along with price, quality and supply.”

He concludes by saying the Irish system is happy to work with other dairy processors and producers on reducing the global carbon footprint globally, sharing knowledge with each other: “We’re an open book on this, as it’s in everyone’s interest to feed a growing global population.”

 

The visit to the monitor farm near Kilkenny

Kilkenny and Cork are two key regions in Ireland’s dairy industry, each contributing to the country’s dairy production. Kilkenny, nestled in the heart of the Irish Midlands, is known for its lush pastures and favourable climate, which support a rich tradition of dairy farming.

The region’s dairy farms produce high quality milk that is often processed into cheeses and other dairy products, benefiting from a long history of expertise and innovation. In contrast, Cork, located in the southwest, is renowned for its extensive dairy operations and is a significant player in Ireland’s dairy sector. Its diverse landscapes, from rolling hills to fertile plains, provide ideal conditions for dairy cattle.

Cork’s dairy industry is characterised by its scale and efficiency, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and modern farming practices. Together, Kilkenny and Cork embody the excellence and tradition of Irish dairy farming, playing crucial roles in both local economies and global dairy markets.

A visit to a local farm in Coolcullen, County Kilkenny was informative. In 2013, the third generation farmer Francis Nolan converted his farm to dairy, and the 160 cows now spend 280 to 300 days per year on grass, with 90 per cent of the output going to the export market. Milk is collected every second day, and the emissions have decreased through changing various inputs in the dairy cow system over the past few years.

Tirlán is almost 100 per cent farmer owned, and this farm is a monitor farm for others to visit and read about, to examine the work it is doing on grass and clover mixtures on the land, maintenance of the water courses, along with cow health, in order to lower emissions even further in the country.

Currently, Tirlán has many measures, from on-farm methods with regard to the grazing pasture and feeding, to its recently launched University College Cork’s Sustainable Farming Academy, which is a cooperative venture between one of the biggest users of Irish milk, Bailey’s Irish Cream, UCC and Tirlán. Through the academy, ACE at UCC will deliver the existing Diploma in Environment, Sustainability and Climate to 20 participants on an annual basis.

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