Béal Átha na Muice Project -
Farm Succession & Well Being
Find out more about the EIP project
What is a European Innovation Partnership (EIP) Project?
The EIP initiative is co-funded by the European Commission and the Irish Government as part of Ireland’s Rural Development Programme (RDP). It involves a range of stakeholders - farmers, advisors, researchers, and NGOs - coming together in ‘Operational Groups’ to trial innovative solutions they have developed.
There is a wide range of EIP Operational Groups already in existence under Ireland's RDP, but this project among others is the first call for projects which specifically targets farm health, safety and wellbeing.
What are the projects objetives?
There are four overarching objectives of the project, which include:
- Identifying the feelings and thoughts of the farmer/ his or her spouse/partner and family member(s) experience on the topic of farm succession planning.
- Identifying the supports and experts required from the OG to help the farmer overcome their emotional and other challenges.
- Introduce the necessary support systems and experts from the OG to help the farmer through their thought processes and lead them to a peaceful and harmonious decision on the future of their asset.
- Evaluate the individual farmer, their spouse/partner and family member(s), mental and well-being state at the end of the process to measure and identify key milestones and gaps in the supports for the farming unit.
Who is participating in the project?
Thirty farm holdings/ units will be identified as the participants, with a cross representation to include farm families with and without potential successors and farmers without spouses/ partners/ family members across different farming sectors.
The researchers will discuss the necessary outcomes of the project with group members and develop structures to collate the desired knowledge, information and trends in the project.
Why is this project needed?
Even where no dispute or misunderstandings occur, emotions caused by disappointment (which can lead to depression) become apparent when the farmer and landowner are informed that family members have no interest in the farm. The current generation of farmers (particularly those older-aged farmers) were raised in an environment (and not necessarily an ideal one) where the land was the sole focus of daily life. To have different opinions and views on the land and its importance in the generational hierarchy goes entirely against their purpose in life and fulfilling the task of passing the farm on to the next generation.
This project will assess the mental challenges and strains in the process of the farm succession of participant farmers within the group. There is considerable evidence that the succession process on Irish farms can cause significant stress, anguish and indeed misery. Predominantly these feelings are attributable to the farmer, but other close contacts such as their spouse or partner and family members are affected similarly. Tension between spouses and partners is common due to misaligned goals for the farm and the expected role of any identified family member's successor.
Why is this project needed?
According to the EU Commission, 7% of farmers are under 35. Although slightly better than the EU, Ireland has presently and will continue to face considerable challenges to encourage the transfer of the farm and attract the next generation into the industry.
The current generation of farmers faces the biggest challenges of their careers with the fundamental shifts in policy toward a cleaner and greener society, including within farming. The agricultural industry needs a vibrant and committed workforce to achieve its targets. The scenario of abandoned land and rural areas is not desirable, nor is the ambition of EU and national policy. Internal policies in recent years have contributed significantly to encouraging younger farmers into the sector through incentives such as the National Reserve and Young Farmer Scheme. The revised DAFM policy in 2015 to permit persons onto a herd number without a legal interest in the land was a significant shift in addressing some of the challenges.
Why is this project needed?
Anecdotal evidence would suggest that many of these arrangements have yet to fulfil a complete transfer of the holding, but there is optimism that now and in the next number of years, these arrangements will lead to that place.
Mismatches of expectations are regular, leading to misunderstandings and a complete communication breakdown on the succession topic. Failure to deal with the issue whilst the farmer was alive leads to bitterness, resentfulness and many fractures in the family unit. Furthermore, the viability of the farm holding and the entire future of the asset is threatened due to such procrastination, mainly due to a failure to reach out to others and the perceived lack of support to assist the farmer in coming to a peaceful and harmonious decision.
