North’s farmers in ‘buffer zone’ but warned of Brexit problems

Northern Ireland farmers enjoying the sunshine at the 2017 Balmoral Show, the biggest event in the agricultural calendar in the North, have been warned to get ready for possible Brexit clouds on the horizon.

Farming families in the North are – according to Ulster Bank, the show’s principal sponsor – decidedly more upbeat at this year’s event primarily because of current exchange rates.

The slide in sterling and the boost it delivered in terms of European payments and making Northern Ireland farmers more competitive has created a welcome “buffer zone” for the local farming community following the UK referendum, the bank suggests.

However, Cormac McKervey, senior agri-manager with Ulster Bank said the cheerier mood at this year’s Balmoral Show shows how exposed Northern Ireland’s farming community is to exchange fluctuations.

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“There is no doubt that it is all good at the moment, farmers are much more competitive as a result of sterling’s position but there is a lot of uncertainty about the future,” Mr McKervey said. “There are a lot of unknowns in relation to future UK trade arrangements and what if anything will replace the single farm payment.”

New supply chains

He said he believes one strong opportunity for Northern Ireland farmers is to create new supply chains to help solve the UK’s food deficit following Brexit.

“For us, it’ s business as usual and we will continue to support farmers in Northern Ireland, “ Mr McKervey said.

But for some families, like the Kane family who has been farming in Myroe in Limavady for more than 100 years, Brexit is already casting a shadow on their plans. Richard and Leona Kane are the team behind Broighter Gold Rapeseed Oil, one of the most successful farm diversification businesses in the North.

Their award-winning oils have been served to Irish and American Presidents and also Queen Elizabeth during her visit to Titanic Belfast.

Enjoying an enthusiastic stream of customers and fans to the Broighter Gold stand in the NI Food Pavillion at Balmoral, Leona Kane said the firm had been forced to absorb price rises because of Brexit.

“We are taking the hit because we don’t want to pass price rises on to our customers. For example, I just heard that the price of our cardboard boxes is rising by between 14 and 17 per cent in some cases.”

‘Panicking’

“I know some businesses like ourselves are panicking but at the end of the day we just have to keep on going. Our plan is to sell more and get new customers to keep on top of the price rises. But we do want to export more – we have a lot of customers in the South and we also export to France – but we want to do a whole lot more,” Mrs Kane said.

Most farming families seemed determined to make hay while the sun shone on the first day of the show regardless of the never-ending Brexit debates at many of the stands with the Kangaroo Kid, an Australian stuntman drawing big crowds and the sheep-shearing pavilion proving as always to be one of the favourite destinations.

But while the top quality livestock from North and South competing for the prized red rosettes undoubtedly commanded their fair share of attention, there was another four-legged animal of another variety that proved to be equally popular for visitors hoping for a freebie on the day – the little plastic cows on display at the Ulster Unionist Party’s stand.