Farming is entering 'golden era'

There are those who would argue that the phrase "positive farmer" is a contradiction in terms.

Even if someone had been catapaulted from Mars to the Positive Farmers' Conference in Limerick on Thursday to take the pulse of the agricultural temperature in Ireland at the moment, it wouldn't take much to figure out that the dairy sector is enjoying some positivity.

With milk prices at a high, it was no wonder that the bulk of the 600-plus delegates at the Limerick conference were involved in the dairy sector.

What was surprising was the age profile of the delegates, with a good number well under 35.

The clear message from the speakers was that farming is entering its golden era. With the world on the verge of a food crisis and grain prices increasing, many experts predict that the current rise in commodities is a trend that's going to continue.

"It's never been such an exciting time to be involved in farming," enthused tillage farmer Jim McCarthy, who admitted to liquidating property assets to reinvest in farming.

How things had changed from the same conference 12 months ago, where the most eagerly-awaited speakers were those on off-farm investments. Now the high achievers say that investing in farming is something that will probably achieve a better return than any off-farm investment can offer.