Raw milk supplier Patrick Bradley says farmers could be at forefront of the solar electricity generation.
Mr Bradley, a dairy farmer in Co Leitrim, has a raw milk bottling plant with his father on their 100-acre farm near Newtowngore, with a 60-strong dairy herd.
Their product – For Their Gut Sake Lovely Leitrim Raw Milk – is sold in about 70 outlets across Ireland and in glass bottles to customers online.
Raw milk was banned following fears about tuberculosis and brucellosis until 2015, following a campaign by Raw Milk Ireland, when it became legal to supply raw milk again.
Mr Bradley says supplying raw milk in glass bottles rather than plastic containers also helps reduce the farm’s carbon footprint.
In addition, Mr Bradley has installed solar panels on the farm which provides up to 40 per cent of their energy and he hopes will become self-sufficient.
However, Mr Bradley says the cost of installing solar panels is prohibitive.
“We have room to have four times as many panels and most farmers have plenty of space,” he added. “The roofs are there facing the sky. The technology is there. To me, it’s a no-brainer.”
He is calling for more grant aid to be made available to help farmers install solar panels which would generate electricity and help with decarbonisation.
LSL News.