the tillage sector on a more secure footing for the future. As a result, a package of initiatives worth €500,000 over the


next three years will be put in place to work towards creating more opportunities for members and grain suppliers. This will build on the opportunities already delivered by the new gluten-free oats contracts offered in recent weeks. As part of the package, Glanbia Ireland aims to deliver


world-class research and development capabilities and sets out a commitment to ensure that Glanbia’s products utilise Irish-grown grain to its utmost. “In addition to addressing short-term challenges, Glanbia Ireland


will look to the future with a long-term development plan that will create opportunities for our grain growers,” said Sean Molloy, chief agribusiness growth officer at Glanbia. “Glanbia Ireland’s grains business will benefit from the increased access to international marketing teams and commercial capabilities through the integration of the company. “Glanbia Ireland will engage with the relevant State organisations


such as Bord Bia, Teagasc and Enterprise Ireland to explore opportunities and supports for research, market development and promotion of Irish grown-grain. “Glanbia Ireland’s intake of native Irish grain this harvest was


over 200,000 tonnes, 40% ahead of last year and well ahead of the 24% growth in national harvest.” Glanbia Ireland is recognising the loyalty of its grain suppliers


with an extra payment of €3 per tonne on feed wheat and feed barley, including contracted winter Cassia barley, supplied by co-op members. The monies will be aligned to input purchases; however, it will run separately to the company’s established patronage model. Furthermore, Glanbia Ireland will explore the potential to develop


a market-based review mechanism. The co-op will also work to ensure that grain suppliers fully utilise the opportunities that forward selling contracts can bring to provide growers with a more secure footing.


In My Opinion ... Richard Halleron WORLD SOIL DAY WILL TAKE PLACE ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5 Thursday, December 5 is World Soil Day 2019. I hope it will provide members of the general public everywhere with the opportunity to pause and think about how important the top six inches of the world’s


surface is to us all. If our soils are not kept in optimal condition, then we can say


goodbye to any hope of feeding the world’s fast-growing population into the future. Farmers often get criticised for not sustainably managing soils.


For me, however, this is a case of total misconception. The reality is that farmers should be praised for doing such a good job in managing our soils sustainably, given the continuing pressure put on them to produce infinite quantities of cheap food. Every farmer worth his or her salt knows that proper soil


management must go to the very heart of their business plans. If they fail to address this core issue, then they have no future. It must also be pointed out that hard experience down through history has taught farmers this very salutary lesson. The first people to grow crops were the Garamantes in what is


modern-day Libya. They harnessed the idea of cultivating plants for food-producing purposes but fell foul of the problems caused by the continuing erosion of their soils. Flash forward to the 20th century, and farmers in the United States got caught in the same way — the end result being the Oklahoma Dust Bowl. So yes, farmers do have prior form when it comes to the


mismanagement of their soils. But it should also be pointed out that they have always been able to learn from their mistakes. For example, the Dust Bowl experience created the impetus for what we know today as ‘min-till’ cultivation. Our land is a finite resource. Looking around the world today, it


is not soil mismanagement that is causing genuine concern regarding our potential to grow food on a sustainable basis for the future. Rather it is the ever-increasing rate at which developers continue to build on prime agricultural land. Once this resource is taken away from us, it can never be replaced. Sustainable intensification was a phrase coined by Ireland’s


former agriculture minister, Simon Coveney, as he chaired the negotiations that led to the settlement of the last Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform package. In essence, this means achieving higher crop yields in ways that ensure the future sustainability of our soils. Farmers are more than happy to buy into this principle. But it


comes at a price; one which consumers around the world will have to pay. The days of cheap food are over. Farmers cannot be expected to work for nothing.


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Alltech.com/ireland AlltechNaturally @Alltech Sarney | Summerhill Road | Dunboyne | Co. Meath FEED COMPOUNDER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 PAGE 29


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