Renewable energy, beef prices, illegal dumping and Brexit are all under the microscope tonight, Thursday, April 4, on the latest episode of FarmLand.
Pat Smith, the chairman of the Micro-Renewable Energy Federation (MREF) and the managing director of Local Power Limited, outlines his view on the potential for on-farm solar photovoltaic (PV).
Although converting solar light directly into electricity accounts for less than 1% of total primary energy production in Ireland, Smith contends that solar panels “will be on every farm in the country over the next 10 years”.
He will also give his take on the long-term outlook for the various sectors – particularly as the outcome of Brexit hangs in the balance.
Eddie Punch, the general secretary of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA), responds to the current beef price low; plus, he discusses the importance of live export markets for the sector.
On concerns over limited capacity for dairy calf exports in France, Punch contends that the dairy industry “should fund extra lairage facilities” at Cherbourg Port.
Dumping
Meanwhile, Thomas Cooney, chairman of the Irish Farmers’ Association’s (IFA’s) Environment and Rural Affairs Committee, reacts to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action’s latest report.
He also stresses that the Government’s newly announced drone-focused anti-dumping initiative must streamline funds towards increased prosecutions.
Meanwhile, our reporter Breifne O’Brien visits pig farmer Dermot Brady who showcases the efficiency benefits that solar energy has brought to his large-scale enterprise in Carrickboy, Co. Longford.