Early farm handover proves a success for Roscommon family
With the average age of the Irish farmer now at 59, succession is one of the key challenges facing farming, according to Teagasc.
While a number of factors see some farmers hold onto ownership of the land for as long as possible, one Co. Roscommon family opted for early transfers.
Olivia Hynes from Four Roads, Co. Roscommon, inherited the farm from her mother, Mary, now 81.
The eldest of three sisters, Mary was left the land by her father who inherited it from his mother in the 1960s, at the age of 24.
Olivia was 23 when she took over the farm - which had Aberdeen Angus, 450 ewes, and suckler cows - from her mother.
Succession
The Co. Roscommon farmer acknowledged that their succession story is very unusual, especially for women in Irish farming. It suited their family as her mother was keen to avail of an early retirement scheme.
Olivia said: "It was always going to be me who took over the farm even though I have four brothers, two older and two younger as well as three sisters. They were never going to do it, though a younger brother is doing a bit of farming now.
"I was the one who was always out with my father and the one who took the half-days from school to help out on the farm.
"I was encouraged to farm. If my parents has left it much longer to hand on the farm, I probably wouldn't have hung around.
After taking over financial control of the farm, she made a number of changes, including switching from Angus cattle to continental breeds, selling weanlings; building a new shed; upgrading sheep facilities; putting in and the use of artificial intelligence (AI). She also provided a lot more internal fencing at Kilcash.
Olivia said all of the family lend a hand at busy periods.
Attracting young farmers
At a time when the population is ageing, Olivia believes more needs to be done to make it attractive for young people to farm, adding that she is lucky to have nieces and nephews sharing her passion for farming.
"Farming has changed completely," she said.
"People are way more educated. There's not too many young people, unless they are really interested, who will go farming. There's always an easier job.
"Many look at parents who never took a holiday or went anywhere. I'm not going to do that."
Having a work/life balance is important to her.
"I know when it's 6:00 or 7:00p.m, it's time to go. It will be there tomorrow. You need to get out and talk to people," said Olivia, who is very involved in her local community.
"Every farm is different. There is no one size fits all but our experience of an early transfer has been positive."
