Farming on the Co. Laois side of the River Barrow between Monasterevin and Ballybrittas is Enda Luttrell.

He is farming in partnership with his father Peter on approximately 300ac with four enterprises run on the farm.

The farm is split by the Barrow Line of the Grand Canal with a grazing platform for sucklers and dairy-beef on one side and a tillage operation on the other.

The farm also runs a store lamb enterprise buying approximately 200 lambs in the west of Ireland and fattening these outdoors over the winter months.

The suckler herd comprises approximately 70 cows of which are predominantly Shorthorn breeding with some pedigree Shorthorn cows also.

The herd is split with approximately half the herd calving in the autumn and half calving in the spring.

The better-type pedigree Shorthorn progeny are sold for breeding, with some of the better commercial Shorthorn-cross heifers sold for breeding also.

The remaining progeny from the suckler herd is sold as beef.

A Charolais stock bull is run with cows during breeding season but some Artificial Insemination (AI) is used also.

There is also generally 100 dairy-beef cattle purchased in as reared calves, with these finished as heifer and steer beef.

The main crops grown in the tillage operation are:

Winter barley;
Winter wheat;
Spring peas;
Maize;
Beet.

Luttrell is one of the young farmers involved in the 2026 edition of the Kepak Young Farmer Forum.

The forum is being run in partnership with Musgrave.

The beef and sheep programme includes a series of events designed to support the future of the Irish beef and sheep sector through shared learning across farmers, industry, education, and retail.

Agriland recently paid a visit to meet Enda Luttrell on his Co. Laois family farm and hear his views on the innovative, new industry-led initiative for young farmers.

He explained that the farm has been involved in the Kepak Twenty20 beef club for the past number of years and their Kepak agent David Coyne introduced the young farmer initiative to him.

Luttrell took the opportunity to join the forum this year, a decision he says he is glad he has taken.

"I'm glad I did [join the forum]. The more we meet, the more beneficial it's becoming. I see the group gelling together.

"It's a great place to make contacts with fellow young farmers.

Luttrell said that the Kepak Young Farmer Forum "is essentially a Knowledge Transfer group" for young farmers.

He explained: "We have met three times so far. We were in Mountbellew, Watergrasshill most recently, and Kilkenny on another day discussing different aspects with a particular focus on young farmers."

The launch of the forum took place in April at Mountbellew Agricultural College.

In May, the participants visited a farm in Co. Tipperary for a farm walk and then onto Co. Kilkenny for a series of young-farmer focused agri-finance workshop.

In June, the young farmer group visited Kepak Cork, Musgrave and SuperValu sites in Co. Cork, for a unique insight to the journey of Irish beef from processing through to retail-ready packs destined for supermarket shelves.

CAP, land access and food security

Luttrell believes "there are not as many young people willing to farm beef and sheep enterprises anymore; certainly not as many as there used to be".

He noted that the issues with the low numbers of young farmers coming through is something the industry is also concerned about.

But Luttrell is optimistic; he believes positive change is coming in regard to land access for young farmers, but also noted that more needs to be done at policy level.

"Obviously, there's the broader challenges we as young farmers face. We have a new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) coming," he said.

He added that succession on farms and land access "are major issues" for young farmers also.

While Luttrell is optimistic that land access may improve for young farmers, he added: "there's worries too".

He mentioned the current talk of reducing the budget in the CAP as a key concern for young farmers with concerns of higher allocations to areas like security.

On this, Luttrell said: "I know Europe is facing its challenges in terms of defence but food security, security is in the name."

"I think having a secure food supply is very much part of that [security].

"We as young farmers know that, we see that, and we need the Government, we need the EU, to back up their rhetoric on that."

Highlights of the Young Farmer Forum so far

Commenting on some of the highlights in the Young Farmer Forum so far, Luttrell said that the most recent trip to Kepak's cattle slaughter and processing facility in Watergrasshill, Co. Cork as well as the visit to Musgrave and SuperValu proved particularly insightful.

He said: "I found that day really beneficial, I had never been up the factory line before.

"I felt that day, I [as a farmer] was very much part of a process. It was reassuring to see how the product was handled once we drop it off.

"We drop cattle to Kepak Kilbeggan and I know once they leave the trailer, that product is minded as well as it is here on farm right through to when it leaves in a package ready for SuperValu.

"The real benefit that day was talking to the master butcher David Constant down at SuperValu in Togher."

Luttrell said that as farmers, "we're on the ground" but added that the shop butcher is "on the ground also" at the consumer-facing end and "talking to the end consumer".

"Everything we're concerned about as primary producers, he was seeing the consumers are just as concerned. They value the product, they still want quality.

"I know we have our challenges in terms of people wanting convenient food and air-fryer ready food now and that's for the likes of Kepak to consider, but as regards the quality of the beef produce that we're producing here in Ireland, the consumer sees that and they value it, so that was reassuring to hear," he said.

Commenting on his experience of the forum so far, Luttrell said: "I'm pretty pleased to be a part of it. So far it's been well worth while".