Tom O'Callaghan

How the Irish sugar industry lives on in Ukraine

February 27, 2018

Used equipment from Ireland’s closed sugar factories in Mallow, Co. Cork and Carlow have aided the resurgence of the sugar industry in southern…

Did you hear the joke of the Kerry farmer seeking a ‘leading milk price’?

December 7, 2017

Opinion

Did you hear the one about the poor Kerry dairy farmer looking for a ’13th milk payment’ top-up from his PLC dairy processor?…

Irish agri-food companies urged to capitalise on Ukraine’s ‘brains and grains’

November 21, 2017

Agri-Business

Irish agri-food companies “simply can’t ignore” opportunities in Ukraine’s cereal and technology sectors, a chief advisor of the Ukrainian Prime Minister has stated.…

Ireland’s food industry: an ‘island at the centre of the world’?

September 11, 2017

Agri-Business

With Brexit looming, Ireland needs to broaden its horizons on the global food market. Instead of being an island at the “centre of…

Ukrainian agricultural boom: Why it matters to Irish farmers

March 22, 2017

Tillage

Ukraine has officially reported yet another record grain harvest for 2016, exceeding 66m tonnes in the process. Of this, wheat accounted for 26.8m tonnes, maize came…

Are Irish beef exports too dependent on stagnant markets?

March 16, 2016

Beef

Between 2004 and 2014, 4kg out of every 5kg of chilled Irish beef was exported to just four western European countries annually. However,…

If Coveney is pushing a property bubble, then Ming is a Celtic Tiger developer!

August 6, 2015

Opinion

Recently, MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan accused Minister Simon Coveney of creating a ‘property bubble’ scenario around dairy industry expansion. If we want to…

Dairy farmers need up-to-date information on European dairy figures

July 29, 2015

Opinion

We talk about Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auctions a lot in Ireland – maybe it is because of the failure to provide timely…

International milk prices soften again in May

May 25, 2015

Dairy

After an initial uplift in milk prices at the start of 2015, international milk prices have softened again over the last couple of…

Could Ukraine hold the key to competitive feed prices across Ireland?

May 20, 2015

Beef

With a new government instigating reforms, and a pivot towards Europe, could the so-called ‘bread-basket’ of Europe offers competitive grain prices for both…

‘Irish farmers are not getting value for money on fertiliser prices’

April 15, 2015

Opinion

Irish farmers are not getting value for money on fertiliser purchases. Maybe it’s time they started playing hard-ball? The European Commissioner for Agriculture,…

Milk quotas end: The battle is won, but the war continues

March 30, 2015

Dairy

Later this week milk quotas will be ancient history, whatever are we going to talk about? It seems that some people have foreseen this…

Time for Irish agri-sector to rethink the role of EU institutions

January 12, 2015

Opinion

Irish-based policy makers need to start pursuing more vigorously the trade opportunities emulating from the EU rather than just viewing Brussels as the…

Irish baby food production can’t be jeopardised by imported ingredients

January 2, 2015

Opinion

Food safety concerns relating to dairy ingredients originating from New Zealand in the recent past could potentially boost Irish-made baby food sales in…

Know your dairy products: Dairy Carbohydrate – Lactose

December 31, 2014

Dairy

Lactose is the primary constituent in liquid whey. It is the main carbohydrate or sugar in milk. Infant-formula manufacturers and the pharmaceutical industry…

International Milk Prices – Year in Review

December 31, 2014

Dairy

Major international dairy co-operatives, Arla, FrieslandCampina and Fonterra announced milk price reductions in December. Arla’s price fell 1.9 cents to 30.64 cents per…