Farmers planning rise in milk and beef output

Farmers are planning major increases in milk and beef output and sheep numbers, according to research published yesterday.

The study of farmers by Broadmore Research found farmers were planning an increase of 52 per cent in milk output, 40 per cent in beef output and nearly 60 per cent in sheep numbers by 2021.

These are in line with the Government’s plan, Food Harvest 2020, which sets targets of increasing milk output by 50 per cent and beef output by 40 per cent by 2020.

Almost 60 per cent of sheep farmers said they planned to double their flock size by 2021 – an increase of 59 per cent in the State’s sheep flock and substantially higher than the Government’s target of 20 per cent.

The research also found that just 6 per cent of non-dairy farmers said they would consider converting to dairy farming after the removal of milk quotas in 2015.