Share Farming: The Gurteen farm story so far

Описание: Growing traction among many Irish farmers – either those seeking a successor or alternatively, those looking for a career pathway into farming - share farming is a relatively new collaborative farming arrangement to Irish shores.
However, such a collaborative farming arrangement has been the mainstay at Gurteen Farm for the last nine years.
A jointly owned venture of the four West Cork dairy co-operatives, Bandon, Barryroe, Drinagh and Lisavaird, Kerry Desmond joined the Gurteen farm operation in January 2024. Kerry is the third share farmer following the conversion of the farm from its original drystock enterprise to a commercial dairy farm in 2016.
The share agreement is for seven years and Kerry is optimistic that he will, in time, move on to a leased farm or alternatively get involved with a share farming arrangement with someone else.
Padraig Cunnane was the second share farmer at Gurteen, he used his time there as a stepping stone to forward his career in farming. In 2024, after operating under a share farming arrangement at Gurteen for four years, he took on a 52ha leased farm just outside Clonakilty and commenced milking. He is currently operating a spring-calving system, milking 120 cows.
Also featuring on the video is Ruth Fennell, Collaborative Farming Specialist at Teagasc, who explained: “Share farming operations can be used not only as a stepping stone in establishing a career in farming for those without their own land, but also as a way of the landowner receiving a financial return for their assets while not being actively involved in the day to day running of the farm.”