College training is key for young farmers says farming minister (1968)

“I hope that you in your areas will use all the influence you can to get farmers to send their sons and indeed young men who will become key workers on farms to agricultural colleges for a course of training,” he told the committee.

The development. of larger farm, businesses with heavy capital investment, he said, meant that the farmer of the future needed a much better training than was available to his predecessor.

Dealing with the expansion of agricultural education, the minister said: “Not only does the young farmer need to know about the techniques of production but he must be able to calculate whether he can apply these profitably on his own farm. This calls for a knowledge of how to keep and use farm accounts.

“We have made a great deal of progress with the keeping of accounts over the past few years but there are still many farmers who are still neglecting this vital aspect of their business.

“The grants available for account keeping ought to be a useful incentive although the advantages to be derived from it go far beyond the value of the grant.”

The minister added: “The keeping and making use of accounts is now a major part of all our educational courses and this work should present no problem at all to any young farmer who has been to one of our colleges.”

The minister dealt with every aspect of agriculture, including farm structure, control of disease,. feeding stuff prices and marketing.

Omagh move to improve fatstock: At a meeting at Mid-Ulster Meat Packing Company Limited Doogary, Omagh, a group farmers were told of some of the problems relating to the meat industry and its relationship with the producer.

The managing director said he felt it was time the two sides of the meat industry came together and exchanged their views and problems.

Some statistics were given by Mr P L Marchesi, Mid-Ulster Meat Packers' producer liaison officer, showing that since the introduction of the Ministry of Agriculture Grading Scheme coupled with a bonus payment the percentage of direct entry cattle had gone up from 17 per cent, to 50 per cent, as against an overall figure of from 10 per cent, to 28 per cent, for Northern Ireland.

Mr Marchesi said: “Frankly we feel there is a great deal to be done in stock improvement in both cattle and sheep and these particularly will apply should we get into the Common Market, but it most certainly applies now to cattle and sheep requirements both for the home trade, the British Market and the EFTA countries to whom we export, namely Switzerland and Sweden where the basic requirements is a carcase of beef and lamb which yields large size lean cuts from the loins and, hams which are of course the high priced ones.

“Our cattle and sheep just do not compare in quality to the best continental breeds or the best grade of cattle in Yorkshire.

“An example which poses an immediate problem to us for our home trade is as follows. We can. sell about 165 top quality light weight 'L' grade type steers per week on the home, market and we find the greatest difficulty, in obtaining these on a 52 week basis.

“Also for about five months between August and December we can use up to 220 top quality lean steers 600/680 lbs deadweight for our Swiss trade. This being, of course, a seasonal trade.

“Similar circumstances apply to lambs, for example, the home trade requires a lamb in the 40/45lb weight range, about 299 per week.

“The Swiss trade requires lambs with broad loins, well sprung ribs; thick compact legs weighing 36/42 lbs at the rate of 300/500 per week during the period November/June. France, when it is open to trade, which is periodically throughout the year, require the same type of carcases as the Swiss trade but weighing 36/46 lbs and up to 1,000 per week.”

The result of the meeting was the formation of the Mid Ulster Stockowners' Club with the general object of “fostering better understanding between the producer anid the factory to the betterment of both sides”.