In December 2009 the Irish Department of Agriculture launched the Dairy Efficiency Programme. The Programme, which is operated through a series of discussion groups, is designed to promote technology transfer to dairy farmers. Drawing on National Farm Survey data from 2009, the purpose of this...

Whilst the adoption of agricultural techniques has received considerable attention in the literature, the ability and willingness of potential adopters to change their current farming system is often overlooked. This paper is concerned with the intention of conventional farmers to convert to...

The concept of sustainability is one of the forefront issues in global agricultural production at present, given mounting pressure to increase food production in both a socially responsible and environmentally friendly way. From an Irish perspective the sustainable intensification of agriculture...

Developing the capacity to assess and chart trends in the sustainability of farming and food production is becoming increasingly more important as agriculture strives to produce more food while minimising the risk to the natural environment. The multi-faceted nature of sustainability is...

The application of artificial fertiliser continues to be a vital component of the production system on the bulk of Irish farms, accounting for approximately nine percent of total costs on dairy and cattle farms (Hennessy et al. 2011). However, the average application of artificial nitrogen...

The Doha round of WTO negotiations has been ongoing since 2001. In the summer of 2008 the negotiations on the modalities for a new WTO agriculture agreement collapsed when seemingly on the verge of a successful conclusion. In this paper we present quantitative analysis of the impact of a new WTO...

As part of its continuing commitment to address the causes of climate change, the EU has agreed reduction targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to be achieved by 2020. In the case of Ireland the target is a reduction of 20 percent relative to the 2005 level. Agriculture is a major source of...

In Ireland, the trade of milk quota is subject to regional restrictions and a large variation in quota prices between regions has caused some controversy. This article investigates this issue by analysing the functioning of the Irish milk quota exchange market. For this purpose, the economic...