Irish dairy farmers have no need to fear for the future if they follow knowledge-based farming, which will give a key role to better nutrition, a report compiled for Keenan, the Carlow agri-business company, has said.
The Borris-based company, which employs 270 people, with 15,000 customers in 40 countries, had experts compile the report because of the major changes flowing from the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.
The report by the Scientific Advisory Board was originally intended for internal use, but because of the challenges being faced, Mr Gerard Keenan, chairman of the company, decided to make it public.
It said that improvements in labour efficiency and milk quality and a significant cut in costs will go hand-in-hand with new production systems that give a key role to better nutrition.
Mr Keenan predicted that improved nutrition would lead to significant profit growth in one year, with much greater profit levels at the end of a four-year cycle.
"Good nutrition can enable producers increase net profits by €300 per cow within four years. By the end of year one, a realistic profit increase is 100 a cow," he said.
"For the average size herd of 50 cows that means a profit rise of €5,000 by the end of the first year, 15,000 at the end of the fourth year," he added.
"In national economic terms, with over 1.2 million cows, the extra profit potential to Ireland's dairy sector is a massive €400 million per annum.
"The predictions buck the trend of fear and apprehension in the entire agricultural industry," he said.
Prof Liam Downey, chairman, Scientific Advisory Board, said there were new opportunities for farmers to increase output and profits within existing labour and land limitations.
Prof David Beever, formerly director of Reading University's Centre for Dairy Research, described nutrition management as an area of major opportunity for the farmer to reduce costs.
All farmers had, he said, substantial room for improvement in Feed Conversion Efficiency (FCE), fertility, longevity and milk components "to the order of 20 to 40 per cent of total costs".
Prof Patrick Cunningham, an expert in animal genetics, said that while the decoupled world we were entering meant uncertain times ahead, this too could be a time of major opportunity for Ireland's dairy sector.
With quota predicted to be more freely available, those who wanted to expand could expand, he added.
The report said that catapulted forward by the introduction of the single farm payment, Ireland's farmers would rapidly discover that any real lack of profitability would be brutally exposed.
The shift in agriculture will see major rationalisation and structural change with a big swing towards greater farm efficiency and output, lower labour inputs and improved quality and assured food safety for an ever-more-demanding consumer.
Keenan's primary markets are in Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Britain and the US.
