asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries what is the Government interpretation of the method of farming known as group farming.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Group Farming Method.
34.
Any arrangement whereby a number of individual farmers combine as a group either to achieve economies in the cost of their farming inputs, to increase the value of their output by improved production or marketing arrangements or to advance the level of technical skill and management of the group members can be regarded as group farming. Such arrangements can range from the simplest one between neighbouring farmers for the sharing of machinery or other resources or the combined purchase of requisites to a fully integrated system where the farmers of a group pool all their resources of land, labour, stock, buildings and equipment.
Does the Minister propose to take any steps to advise on how this may be operated in the future in view of our application to join the Common Market?
Provision has been made for the assistance of group farms of the kind I have mentioned in certain places and this is also taking place of itself in other areas with the assistance of the personnel of the advisory services. It is obvious that this is one of the methods by which farms of a smaller size can continue and profit in business. The Department are very interested in it. The Land Commission are carrying out a communally held farm experiment in County Meath in which four farmers are participating. The Department are watching this experiment with interest. Another experiment is being carried out in County Tyrone and we shall be anxious to see the results there.
Can the Minister give the House some information of how the multi-tier milk price system would operate in regard to a fully integrated group farm producing milk for creameries? Would they be given a high price or a low price?
I did not catch the Deputy's question.
The Deputy wants to know whether this would be a Russian or a Cuban project.
I can assure the Labour Deputies that there will be no kolkhotz idea encouraged here.
Can the Minister say how the present multi-tier milk price system would apply to such a farm? Would it be treated as a large farm or as a group of small farms under the system?
The question is hypothetical at the present time. I would be inclined to treat them as four individual herds. I would be disinclined to penalise the shareholding farmers in a holding of that kind simply because their composite herd would be bigger than it ought to be. The question would, however, need to be examined.
As big as it is desirable to have it for efficiency purposes.
It is obviously better to have one herd byre, one milking parlour for 50 cows and four or five small enterprises. This is the type of thing we should encourage.
Would the Minister agree that there has been some disquieting delay in getting this going? The Minister mentioned the question of communal farms in County Meath.
I would be surprised if there were not a great many teething troubles in a new experiment like this, especially in a community like ours which fought so long and so bitterly for freedom of tenure. This is one of the factors in the psychological build-up of the farmers which must be overcome.
In other words, the Minister does not think the scheme will work?
It will work.
The remaining questions will appear on tomorrow's Order Paper.