There are approximately 137,500 family farms in Ireland with an average size of 32.4 hectares per holding according to the Farm Structure Survey of 2016.
The scale of our farming output relative to our domestic population of 4.9m people mean that Ireland exports some 90% of its net beef output, making Ireland the largest beef exporter in Europe and one of the largest in the world (Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, 2019). Similarly, 85% of dairy output is exported.
This isn’t exactly what I was searching for, I was more interested in the “independant farms” part
In France, most “family ran” farms work on rented land and under an exclusivity contract that forces them to sell all their production to a single company. This leads to a situation where the few billionaires that buy food from everyone get to set the prices at which they buy different crops (and therefore what the farmers produce), and whether to export it. In other news, France is exporting wine while malnutrition rises and the major food charity is running out of fund as the demand increases. The government has stepped in to fund the charity, but still, we end up prioritizing exporting alcohol over feeding locals.
I would be more interested in how the system decides what is exported and produced, rather than in what is currently exported and produced
In Ireland when we refer to a “family farm” it means its family owned.
This was due to the Land Acts which transferred ownership of farmland from landlords to the farmers.
Im not sure about exclusivity deals, I’ve heard if it in super markets, but we also have co-ops and farmers markets, so its possible for farmers to bypass that.
What billionaire overlord? Irish agriculture is made up of over 100,000 independant family farms, and each farmers income is on average about €40-50k.
We produce enough beef to support almost 3x the population and enough dairy for 10x the population.
Ireland is the 2nd most food secure country in the world.
That sounds impressive, I never heard about it. Do you have some resource about it? I don’t know how to search for it and Google is, like, you know
Sure:
Sustainable Food Systems Ireland
Teagasc (Agricultural Output
Teagasc (Farmers Income)
Ask About Ireland
This isn’t exactly what I was searching for, I was more interested in the “independant farms” part
In France, most “family ran” farms work on rented land and under an exclusivity contract that forces them to sell all their production to a single company. This leads to a situation where the few billionaires that buy food from everyone get to set the prices at which they buy different crops (and therefore what the farmers produce), and whether to export it. In other news, France is exporting wine while malnutrition rises and the major food charity is running out of fund as the demand increases. The government has stepped in to fund the charity, but still, we end up prioritizing exporting alcohol over feeding locals.
I would be more interested in how the system decides what is exported and produced, rather than in what is currently exported and produced
In Ireland when we refer to a “family farm” it means its family owned.
This was due to the Land Acts which transferred ownership of farmland from landlords to the farmers.
Im not sure about exclusivity deals, I’ve heard if it in super markets, but we also have co-ops and farmers markets, so its possible for farmers to bypass that.