IFA chairman pays tribute to Clare farmers

THE resilience and adaptability of Clare farmers has been held up as a shining example of innovation. This tribute came from IFA Rural Development chairman, Tom Turley when he launched the annual Clare Idea Awards on Wednesday.

“The farmers of County Clare are known as a very clever and resistant type having to work and live in the demanding environment and under the challenging conditions that the west offers, which can often involve adjusting practices to suit the environment and making the most out of what they have,” Mr Turley remarked at the launch of the award scheme organised by Clare Local Development Company.
Speaking before a large attendance at the Woodstock Hotel, Ennis, he said, “In business terms, this is called ‘being innovative’, which is a vital character trait entrepreneurs need. The other ingredients to start up a new business are also often already in place where farmers are concerned. They have the land, the animals and the beauty of the landscape to start off a small tourism operation or expand into food production by adding value. A farmer is indeed a multi-skilled person and as such, very much suitable to start their own businesses and making ideas into a money-earner to supplement the daily farm income long-term.”
Mr Turley commented that the winner of the inaugural Clare awards last year, Roger Fahy from New Quay, had gone on to score highly in the national competition.
“We have proven to have fantastic potential and a very high standard amongst our farmers in Clare and I am looking forward to learning about the new ideas put forward in 2010. I would like to encourage any farmer with an idea to do things differently to come forward, discuss and present their idea. Sometimes your own practical way of doing things differently or more efficiently can have a huge impact and have the makings of a great business idea,” he said.
Mr Turley paid tribute to the Clare Development Company for supporting the competition. He also noted the competition would not be possible without the sponsors who had giving a combined prize fund of €5,000.
“We have three categories this year; herd and fish number holders already in business, herd and fish number holders with no previous business experience and in addition, second level schools. The variety of entries promises to be exciting and I would like to wish all participants the very best of luck and success,” he said.
Information evenings on the awards initiative will take place in Teagasc offices  over the next couple of weeks: Ennistymon on Tuesday; Kilrush on Wednesday; Scariff next Thursday and Ennis on November 1, all commencing at 8pm. The closing date for applications is 5pm on November 15 and the competition winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in the Woodstock Hotel, on December 6 at 2pm.
Last year’s winner, Roger Fahy of Linnalla Irish Ice cream, has described what winning the competition meant to his business.
“It was great winning the award last year with our idea of milk vending idea for a number of reasons. Firstly, I researched this project with my 16-year-old son who brought fresh ideas and he helped me to think differently. I would now be very much in favour of father/son teams in business as the combination of enthusiasm of youth with the life experience of the older generation is a great match,” he said.
The organisers of Clare Farm Idea Awards agree with him on the spirit and enthusiasm of youth and have, as a result, added another category for schools to enter in this year’s competition. Roger added, “Secondly, the confidence that winning gives you; the judges, who are people with such great experience, believe your idea to be viable idea and this is great. We really appreciated and took to heart the support and mentoring given at such an early stage of our business plan.
“Finally, we had so many phone calls from farmers from all over the county asking about our idea, wondering if they could use their ideas to generate an off-farm income. The best advice I can give to other farmers is to ask yourself at all times, in particular for repetitive and time-consuming tasks, is there another way I can do this? How can I make this better? Never accept a way because it’s the way it’s always been done. Always think big and use the young people to gather their ideas and make them happen with the support of your experienced hand and mind,” Mr Fahy said.
“I will enter the competition again this year as it is a great outlet to get the old thinking cap on as the nights get longer and the farm working day gets shorter,” he concluded.