Are you working for nothing?

Dear Editor,

"You load 16 tons what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store"

The above lyrics from the famous song by US country singer Merle Travis about a coalminer moving 16 tons of coal a day have a deep resonance with farmers. In a farming situation the coal becomes cattle, the day becomes a year and the company store is the Co-Op and the bank. But the reality stays the same.

After another disastrous winter fattening season which seems to happen three years out of four, I have to ask myself where do we go from here? Do we blame the factories or the supermarket or is it time to re-evaluate our own farming practices.

We all pay a lot of money each year getting a set of accounts done. Most people only use them to calculate the amount of tax they owe, in my opinion. There are a few very important figures in there.

Every farmer needs to ask himself serious questions: Is each additional animal bought adding to or taking away from your profitability? How much of your single farm payment do you retain as profit? If your net profit is less than your single farm payment then not alone are you working for nothing, but you are in fact loosing money.

When looking at your accounts you have to ask yourself how much, if anything, you should be investing in a loss making enterprise.

I would advise each and every one of you to make an appointment with your accountant and give your accounts a thorough forensic examination. I don't want to be all doom and gloom, but if you are prepared to work for nothing, nobody is going to stop you.

Yours etc,

Edmond Phelan

Munster Vice President

Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA)