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Maize

Irish farmers grew over 22,500 hectares of maize in 2010, the vast majority of which was for use as feed for livestock. It is harvested and ensiled in a silage pit where the crop, including the cob, ferments. The highly nutritious silage is mainly used by dairy farmers who milk cows through the winter, as it is an excellent feed for lactating cows. A high proportion of the Irish crop is sown under plastic, in order to ensure that it gets sufficient heat in the Spring time.

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Prize bulls at a show

Beef cattle breeding in Ireland is being advanced by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (www.icbf.com). The organisation, based in Bandon in Co Cork, was established in 1997 and has as its mission “to achieve the greatest possible genetic gain in the national cattle herd for the benefit of Irish farmers and the industry”.

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Meat factory

Over 1.4million bovine animals were slaughtered at approved export meat plants in 2010. This consisted of 664,000 steers, 444,000 heifers and 337,000 cows. The product is sold in a range of formats to Irish and international customers. Irish beef processors now have a substantial presence in the retail markets of the UK and Continental Europe (www.bordbia.ie).

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Chickens

Chicken meat is now the most popular meat in Ireland, with average consumption of 30kgs per capita. The industry is highly consolidated with only a small number of large scale growers who are closely linked to the processing firm. Ireland’s largest poultry firm is Carton Brothers in Co Cavan (www.chicken.ie). The company employs over 600 people and has 150 farmer suppliers. Meanwhile, Ireland’s largest producer of duck meat and associated products is Silver Hills Foods, based at Emyvale in Co Monaghan (www.silverhillfoods.com).

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Cereals

Ireland is a net importer of cereal grains, but there is a very specialised and efficient group of growers producing grain in Ireland for the home market. Crops are either sown in the autumn or spring, but all are generally harvested between July and September. Spring Barley (pictured) is the most popular cereal crop, grown by over 9,000 farmers in 2010. It is used for the malting, seed and feed industries. Winter wheat, winter barley and winter and spring oats are the other important grain crops produced in Ireland.

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Cattle mart

Livestock marts are located throughout Ireland and are used as trading centres where regular - mostly weekly – live auctions of livestock take place. The majority of marts are owned by farmer co-operatives (www.icos.ie), while some are privately run businesses. In 2010, a total of 1.68million livestock sales through marts were recorded, with the peak month, October, accounting for 249,000. Animals are sold by public auction, with the video showing a typical sale day at Kilkenny mart in autumn 2011.

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Oilseed rape

The distinctive bright yellow flowers of a crop of Oilseed rape, a member of the Brassica family. It is grown for its oil content and is increasingly popular in Ireland. There are two types grown in Ireland - Winter oilseed rape and Spring oilseed rape. Oilseed rape acts as a break crop in a tillage rotation in order to prevent the build up of cereal diseases. Winter oilseed rape planting almost doubled between 2010 and 2011; from 8,000ha to 15,000ha.

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Harvest

Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney pictured driving a combine harvester as he assists in the barley harvest on his home farm at Roberts Cove in Co Cork. Cereals are types of grass with grains that can be eaten or used to make food. The main cereals grown in Ireland are wheat, oats and barley. Their seeds, which are called grains, are used to feed animals and to make food such as bread and porridge. “Milling Wheat” is used to make flour. A large proportion of the crop in Ireland is used for pig and cattle feed. Oats are used in porridge and in muesli. They are also important for use as a feed for horses.

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