Agriland spoke to beef and tillage farmer Elliott Potterton from Co. Meath to conclude the series on challenges facing young farmers.
Elliot is 19-years-old and keeps busy with working part-time on the farm and working at his family owned mart in Delvin, Co. Westmeath.
He spoke about the declining interest in farming from younger generations, and said that the age demographic at the mart is probably 55 or older.
Elliott said that young people “come with an interest rather than having an interest”.
He explained that more young people want to receive a third-level education and a stable income.
“Farming is not the most reliable when it comes to income, and people are probably scared off by that.
“The nine to five with the same paycheck at the end of every week is still a far more secure way of living,” Elliott said.
Mart life
Last year marked a change in perspective for mart life, with calf welfare put under the spotlight in an investigative programme.
Some marts have since put in place their own additional rules for protecting animals.
Elliot said that the reports were “horrendous”, but that it only represents a small proportion of the industry.
He said new implementations will probably include an increase in ages before calves can be sold at the mart.
Elliot added that holding on to the calf for longer would benefit the farmer in terms of financial reward.
On the farm
With a constantly changing climate, Elliott’s work on the family farm involves adapting to more sustainable practices to increase the farm efficiency.
He said that in the last few years the family have started to chop more straw and boost the nutrients in the soil to future proof it.
The farm uses soil that is part of the Rathowen Series soils, which are grey brown podzolics, that are well drained, and of silt to silty clay loam texture.
Elliott said that “reducing compaction” is also used on the farm. This is to avoid increased surface run-off and transporting of nutrients.
They also invested in a dribble bar for the slurry tanker, allowing more “efficient” slurry spreading.