Recent entrants to dairying are being encouraged by Teagasc to sign up for a new short training programme regarding cash flow management before Friday, June 13.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine launched a new development programme for recent entrants to dairying, called the ‘Cash Plan 2014’ Programme. It is targeted at a specific cohort of dairy farmers – those who have commenced supplying milk since 1st January 2008.

The new training programme will be delivered by Teagasc Advisers on a nationwide basis. Interested farmers should contact their local Teagasc Adviser immediately as ‘the closing date for receipt of applications for this Cash Plan training programme is Friday 13th June.

Dermot McCarthy, Head of Teagasc Advisory Services, said: “While the training programme is focussed on cash flow management, qualifying course participants can get a cash flow boost of up to €1,000 before the end of the year if all required tasks are completed.”

Recent Teagasc research has indicated the importance of cash flow budgeting and monitoring to the success of expansion projects. Welcoming the announcement of this new Cash Plan programme, Tom O’Dwyer, Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer Teagasc, said: “While the imminent abolition of EU Milk Quotas will provide dairy farmers with significant opportunity to increase milk production, expansion will put significant additional pressures on existing dairy farm businesses. In most cases, expansion will involve additional debt and this, along with ‘below par’ performance in the early years of expansion, will put extra pressure on the existing farm’s cash flow. As a result, there is a real need for dairy farmers to up skill themselves in a number of financial management skills relating to cash flow recording and budgeting”.

Preliminary estimates from the Teagasc National Farm Survey’s 2013 results show that the average income level on Irish farms increased slightly in 2013 (up 1%) to €25,639. The stability in the average level, however, masks dramatically contrasting fortunes across the different components of Irish farming.