Dairy farms 'need 5,000 staff to hit Food Harvest 2020 target'

Irish dairy farms will need an additional 4,000 or 5,000 trained staff if the goals set out in Food Harvest 2020 are to be achieved.

Well-known Cork dairy farmer Michael Murphy said there is a looming skills shortage in the dairy sector which needs to be addressed.

Mr Murphy, who has dairy interests in Ireland, New Zealand, the USA and Chile, said that between 2,000 and 3,000 people were currently employed on dairy farms.