If you can't grow enough grass to feed all of the animals on your farm, is it time to reduce the number of animals on your farm?

Well, we would say that we have been doing the fodder survey over the years, back 10 years or more, Philip.

We would say that that's a way to indicate what actions need to be taken at farm level.

We would say that looking at the numbers, certainly some farms, individual farms, have issues.

And certainly in the South East, there are problems on farms there.

But overall, the amount of feed in the country is adequate.

Cattle numbers are down, actually, in the country over the last five years.

Is Chagas not advising those farms, you are unsustainable by definition?

How are you? Where are we going to be in 10 years time, Joe?

We'll still be here, hopefully, Jim.

We'll still be here anyway.

That's the first thing to say.

Yeah, we'll still be here, which is important to say because, you know, the epitaph of the dairy industry has been written many times, Jim.

But, you know, when you look inside the industry, then it is getting stronger and it is getting better.

And I think we need to keep that in mind, actually.

cardinal

How are you? Where are we going to be in 10 years time, Joe?

We'll still be here, hopefully, Jim.

We'll still be here anyway.

That's the first thing to say.

Yeah, we'll still be here, which is important to say because, you know, the epitaph of the dairy industry has been written many times, Jim.

But, you know, when you look inside the industry, then it is getting stronger and it is getting better.

And I think we need to keep that in mind, actually.

Do you see an increase in the coming years of zero grazing here in Ireland?

What, what's the outcomes from that, from that, from that meeting?

Yeah, look, we met last, we met last Friday, so that's really, you know, all the industry stakeholders, not just a dairy meeting by the way, so we have the full industry behind it.

Like, we had presentations on the day about tillage, about, you know, you know, commercial hort as well, so, like, the s- situation in com- in, in, in hort, like, even on, on s- you know, potatoes and beet and all, uh, everything covered, but dairy obviously and dry stock too.

So basically any enterprise that relies on water, which is an agricultural enterprise, in those areas is suffering, like, you know.

Um, so we had the meeting with industry stakeholders, financial, uh, ourselves obviously, financial institutions, the farm orgs, department, ICOST, all the co-op people.

So anyone really that has a stake in the, in the b- in the business really was, was round the table.

Um, so really, look, it's... we have to say it too, look, it, it's July... or sorry, it's August now, um, it's an early meeting for a Feed and Fodder Committee.

What's the advice to them?