Fine weather shines on ploughing season opener

With a good, bright day breaking on Sunday last, the first of the six ploughing matches that make up the Kerry series of contests took place at Dowling’s farm outside Abbeydorney village drawing a fine and appreciative attendance to watch the proceedings.

“The weather was fine for us and we were able to get all the cars in and out without any difficulty. The land is up on limestone rock so it would take very bad weather to make it very wet but it’s great to be able to move about without any difficulty,” Tom O’Mahony said.

While hankering for the great days when the Abbeydorney Ploughing Match was like a mini-Spring Show, it was pleasing for the executive that the demonstrations of these skills are still able to draw appreciable attendances. There was a great welcome for Colm Dineen of Causeway, the winner of the Senior 3-Furrow All-Ireland title at the National Ploughing Championships at Rathiniska a few weeks ago.

 

Read the full story in tomorrow’s Kerry’s Eye

Conflicts emerge on strategy on treatment of mica issues

For farmers who are intending to make further investments in developing the environmental capabilities of their holdings, the budget has delivered something of a ‘mixed message’, the President of the ICMSA, Pat McCormack, confirmed.

One of the principal ways in which advances can be made is in investment in slurry storage works and to this end, the accelerated capital allowances are very welcome. However, the 10% levy on concrete products is immediately contraindicative to this measure. A process of giving with the one hand and snatching back with the other is having the effect of undermining TAMS.

“It is already obvious that the combination of both these measures is going to end up with them cancelling each other out. We have the government effectively forcing farmers to build greater slurry storage capacity and we have farmers ready to do that,  but they are hampered by rampant construction inflation and a shortage of contractors,” he said,

 

Read the full story in tomorrow’s Kerry’s Eye