Jack Ronan’s farm is one of the 10 largest in Ireland. But with war in Ukraine ratcheting up feed prices, he has started to consider culling his herd for the first time since his family began farming in County Tipperary three generations ago.
The cost of animal feed, fertiliser and fuel has soared for farmers across Europe as Russia’s invasion of its neighbour squeezes grain supplies and sends the price of energy and other inputs rocketing. Stricken farmers are also having difficulties accessing credit as their financial problems mount.
“I’ve never seen as big a cash burn, ever,” said Ronan, speaking at a “Save our Bacon” protest outside the agriculture ministry in Dublin last week, where farmers were calling for a €100mn government loan package to save the Irish pig sector, worth €1bn a year in exports, from ruin.