“What we need is productivity when in the field” — a sentiment with which very few farmers could, or would, pick a quarrel. To add to its impact it is voiced by Tim Sheahan, who, in partnership with his brother John, farms 607ha in County Cork alongside a well established farm merchant business. Having such an insight into the market for both produce and inputs, the brothers are acutely aware of the effect that fluxes in prices can have on long- and short-term profitability. It is a situation that has influenced their approach to returning a profit from the land in their care.
Machinery manufacturers are quick to stress how efficient and essential to modern farming their latest products are. However, one farming enterprise from County Cork runs four Ford New Holland tractors dating from the late 1990s, which, they claim, perform just as well in the field as their more current counterparts
