Separate incomes enable part-timers to continue to work in the countryside

When part-time farming began to accelerate in the 1980s, it was often considered a mark of failure for farmers. It was an admission that their holding was unable to generate an income capable of sustaining a farmer and his family.

In those days, it was gloomily forecasted that up to a third of farms would eventually be run on a part-time basis. Indeed, one of the most depressing aspects of the 1990s was the number of high-profile farmers who decided to opt out of full-time farming.

Having an “outside” income had been a feature of Irish farming for many decades. Some of the most secure farmers were those lucky to be married to a professional woman such as a nurse or teacher. Those households had one steady income, and were not at the mercy of market or weather conditions.

The pessimists of nearly 30 years ago were correct. There has been a surge in the number of part-time farmers in recent decades. Many did not have the financial resources to survive on one income. They couldn’t modernise their facilities, buy more land or increase their output.

But despite the derogatory description of “hobby farmers” of earlier days, the current attitude to part-time farmers is distinctly positive.

Any residual stigma that part-time farmers are in any sense second class has long been dispelled. They are now respected for their contribution to agricultural output, and admired for the high levels of energy they bring to the business.

The boom years of the Celtic Tiger created opportunities for farmers especially in the construction business. By 2006, as many as 42 per cent of farmers had off-farm jobs, and on 60 per cent of farms the farmer and/or partner had a job.

However, with scarcity of jobs following the economic collapse and the decline of the construction industry, the proportion of part-time farmers had dropped to 32 per cent in 2011.

The number of farms where the farmer and/or partner had a job has also fallen to 50 per cent. But about 35,000 farmers remain in the part-time category.

Many farmers and their adult children have returned to the land after the economic bust, and places in agricultural colleges have been fully booked over the past few years.

Part-time farming favours those with sheep and cattle, but it frequently involves early morning, late evening and weekend work, outside the hours of the “day job”.

But it gives those with a love of the land the chance to pursue their passion. Sometimes there is very little financial return for low-margin farm work, but it can be a nice earner when prices are good.

Dairy farming is least suitable to part-time work because of morning and evening milking. But some farmers have developed enterprises on site, especially cheese makers such as the award-winning Cashel Blue.

Rural communities

There are downsides to having such large numbers of part-timers. Some of the blame for the increase in farm accidents is said to be down to part-time farming.

Farm animals have become less accustomed to being in the company of humans as their owners were away at work.

As a result, livestock occasionally become agitated and attack people near them.

Part-time farming has slowed down the infamous “flight from the land” and has facilitated the preservation of rural communities. Stories are told of some families who did sell up and move into towns only to regret their decision.

But between 2000 and 2010, the number of farms fell by just over 1 per cent to 139,829. Because so few farms have come on the market, it has inhibited the expansion of farmers attempting to scale-up.

The State farm body Teagasc say there is evidence that off-farm income is being invested in farm businesses to improve facilities and to purchase machinery. That gives them an advantage over full-time farmers who may not have the money to buy the latest equipment.

About half the IFA membership is part-time. When it comes to bargaining, the IFA insists it represents part-timers with equal vigour in negotiations with the EU, government, retailers and food companies.

Unpredictable income

Part-time farming will remain a constituent of Irish agriculture into the future. For the farm families involved, it means they’ll continue to have a stable outside income, in addition to whatever they can earn for their produce in the marketplace – as well as their regular “cheque in the post” from the EU.

They have the best of both worlds. They have a regular job and don’t have the anxiety of surviving on an unpredictable single income like their full-time counterparts.

Yet they also have the pleasure of continuing to work in the countryside, and the real possibility over the next few years of sharing in the ambitious growth in farm and food output targeted in the Government’s Harvest 2020 report.

Joe O’Brien is a former RTÉ agriculture correspondent