Young farmer of the year gives his unique take on farm sharing
Chris Cahill, from Cavan, is the 2024 Young Farmer of the Year. He shares his thoughts on what’s needed to make share farming work for both parties. When Chris was awarded the Sustainable Agriculture Master’s degree from UCD in 2015, he wasn’t exactly certain how he’d gain entry into the farming business, as he had no family farm to join. Fast-forward to 2021, and the answer was suddenly crystal clear.
The story first appeared in our 2025 Irish Farm Report.
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During his studies in New Zealand, Chris experienced the shared farming model up close. With the assistance of the Macra Land Mobility Service, he entered an arrangement with Tony McCormack and has since expanded the dairy enterprise from 110 cows to 250 crossbred cows. But how does sharing work in practice? In this case, Tony provides the land, and Chris provides the labour and the cows. Over the years, the original 110 cows which Tony owned have come into the ownership of Chris in lieu of income. “You need to get on with your partner on a personal level, and you need to make sure from the very beginning that your medium-term and long-term goals are aligned.”
“In my own case, I believed that we should be focused on the development of a premium dairy herd, and increasing the genetic profile was top of my agenda. Tony bought into this, and it’s still our North Star today. Land Mobility Service helped us set out our clear goals from the outset, and it was one of the best things we ever did.” While not legally binding, the agreement will run for ten years initially, and both men have regular meetings to discuss any issues that impact the farm. “For the most part, Tony gives me free rein to make everyday decisions, but things like capital investment projects or a possible change in direction obviously need our mutual approval. This formal process of communicating and aligning is absolutely crucial.”
With the help of ifac’s Tullamore office, Chris and Tony agreed to a 50/50 profit share (before subsidies). “It means that we’re equally motivated to succeed and that we each have a clear expectation of our returns. If I were advising other young farmers, I’d say that the shared farm model only works if the farm is scalable. You need to make sure that it’s capable of providing two incomes over time.”
While very satisfied with the shared farm experience with Tony, neither men see this as an exclusive arrangement, and Chris points out that he’s open to working on another similar project in the future or leasing land. He also owns Cavan Grassland Consultancy Ltd, a grass measurement and management service provider across the north midlands area. “Again, it’s vital that things like this don’t come as a shock to your partner, and myself and Tony have discussed the future in depth, making sure that there’s an exit strategy that makes sense to both of us.”