Teagasc, the agriculture and food development authority, yesterday launched a streamlined new advisory service for farmers to meet the requirements of modern farming.
The acting director of Teagasc, Tom Kirley, said that for the first time in a generation farmers were now free to develop to a more market-driven business.
"The era of farming forms is now over. We are getting back to the business of farming land in the most efficient way possible and we have realigned our service to meet the needs of modern-day farming," he said.
Pat Boyle, head of advisory services in Teagasc, said that the new system would see the 430 advisers grouped in four distinct programmes to service the organisation's 60,000 clients, 45,000 of which have contracts with the agency.
He said that the four areas were business and technology, good farm practice, rural development and adult training.
The business and technology programme would deliver cutting-edge technology to commercial farmers, bringing the best knowledge from the applied research carried out at Teagasc research centres on to dairy, drystock and tillage farms.
"Increased specialisation among our advisers will provide our farmer clients with the information and knowledge to increase their profits by adopting new production techniques on to their farms," he said.
The business and technology programme will be delivered by 78 specialist dairy advisers, 32 cattle and sheep advisers and 15 tillage advisers.
The good farm practice programme is built around the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (Reps) and is aimed at improving farming practice at all levels.
Mr Boyle said the rural development programme provided a service to assist thousands of farmers to pursue alternative businesses such as organic farming, equine husbandry, deer and goat production, rural tourism, artisan food, commercial and free-range poultry and, more recently, innovative rural business ideas.
He added that the details of the adult training programme had already been announced and up to 9,000 farmers were now attending Teagasc adult courses each year in a variety of subjects, including farm business, computer and internet training and farm safety courses.