Galway company delivers sweet boost for farmers during calving season
A family business, based in Tuam, Co. Galway, is hoping their 'sweet' idea is going to give farmers a helping hand during the busy calving season.
That is because when farmers first open up their ear tag package from Cormac Tagging a Dairy Milk bar of chocolate is the first thing that greets them.
According to the company every new calf tag order from October 1 to February 1 will have a bar of chocolate in it.
Managing director of Cormac Tagging, Ursula Kelly, told Agriland: "The chocolate bar is just a simple gesture of our appreciation for our customers.
"Our team wanted to say thank you to our customers in a small, personal way. We know that calving can be a tough and stressful period, so adding a Dairy Milk chocolate bar to a box of tags is just our way of bringing a little smile when the order arrives.
"It’s not always the herd owner who finds the chocolate either. More often than not, it’s a partner, one of the kids, a relief milker or the farm manager who spots it first, which just adds to the fun.
"We’re a family business and like family farms, sometimes it’s the little things that matter most."
Kelly explained that the feedback from the gesture has just been "so positive" and "in life, chocolate always made things a little easier".
She said: "Having fun and showing an appreciation of our customers is at the heart of everything we do here."
Farmer mental health
Separately, a TD has called for a greater level of focus on the mental health challenges faced by farmers during a debate in the Dáil.
A debate on the issue of men's mental health last week with Offaly TD, Carol Nolan, welcoming the discussions but stating such debates do not happen frequently enough.
She said: "While I welcome this debate, it is extraordinarily noticeable how infrequently, if at all, this House gives time to discuss men's mental health.
"We know that men are vastly and disproportionately more likely to commit suicide."
Nolan said that protecting farmers' mental health would also protect the future of the sector.
"By focusing more on meeting the mental health needs of our farmers we not only support their own wellbeing, which is paramount, but we also safeguard the very future of farming itself," Nolan said.
