Full coverage: Agriculture

Meat may be a low-margin business, but the scale achieved by Peter and John Queally has made two generations of multi-millionaires. An in-depth investigation of over 300 companies reveals their corporate structure and business strategy.

Farm incorporation theory is rock solid from a tax perspective. However, a farming father and son have been left with a huge tax bill after routing their Single Farm Payment through their personal accounts, not those of their company.

An Taisce’s challenge to Glanbia’s cheese factory raises many questions: Is litigation against individual projects the new policy battleground? How much of a facility’s supply chain should be scrutinised in the planning process? Experts offer varied answers.

From science to soul-searching, the industry is showing signs of a deep shift in addressing its environmental impact. The bad news is that the rest of the world has moved on, and rules are long set for the rest of this decade. The good news is that work taking place now will be useful to tackle the real challenge coming after 2030.

Established as a small-scale insect farming experiment five years ago, the agri-tech startup now ships biofertiliser by the pallet and has just hired its first chief financial officer.

The historic Kerry Co-op is in advanced talks with the wider food group to regain control of its domestic agribusiness. The deal is a high-stakes bet for the farmers, and part of a final focus on high-tech ingredients for Kerry Group.

From new market entrants to the multiple challenges of online sales and higher expectations in the year of Covid-19, the Christmas tree market is not exempt from change… Or is it?

McDonald's is the latest food business to announce a plant-based alternative for next year. We don’t know yet if shifts in consumer demand away from meat and dairy are a temporary fad or deep-seated trends. Either way, a public stake in this emerging industry would help manage what the future holds for Irish farmers.

Last month, the Minister for Agriculture was burning the midnight oil in EU talks worth €10bn to Ireland. Next month, his industry is facing Brexit chaos. Yet Charlie McConalogue is at his most combative when discussing the lack of transparency in the beef trade.

Thousands of farmers in the co-op at the origin of Kerry Group were targeted by the tax authority over the status of so-called patronage shares. A new landmark case has revealed how the probe came unstuck.