As the Irish Farmers Journal celebrates 75 years, it’s probably a good time to dig out the old copies that I found in my parents’ attic.

Stretched out over a 57-year period, they hop, skip and jump through the decades, painting a small tapestry of Irish agriculture and the evolution of Ireland’s farming story.

From the 60s through to the early 90s, there are sporadic beef crises, TB controversies and concerns over the falling quality of cattle in the Irish beef kill. The new Leaving Cert, bull and boar licensing, a cow reduction scheme in Europe, paying dairy farmers to keep sucklers, troubles in Dutch farming, warble eradication, wheat smuggling and Yugoslav bull beef all feature.

Hams across the border is a cracking (or crackling) headline from October 1969, concerning pig smuggling in Co Monaghan. Estimated to cost the economy £750,000 (€952,303) annually, this front-page story ran for a number of weeks and involved dramatic cross-country chases.

Finding a new name for the amalgamation of advisory and education body An Chomhairle Oiliúna Talmhaíochta (ACOT) and the agricultural research institute, An Foras Talúntais (AFT) created controversy in 1988. It appears people didn’t want Teagasc to be called ‘Teagasc’.

Debate ensued to decide whether ‘ACOT’ or ‘ARDA’ would be a better title. Ultimately, the level of controversy and publicity around the name had established Teagasc as a well-known brand name, thereby defeating the objections against it.

Dockers in 1966

The oldest edition I have goes back to 22 January 1966, with a lead story of dockers setting the price of heavy store bullocks back by £5 or £6 a head (€6.34 or €7.61). A strike in Dublin port at the time resulted in cattle shippers using alternative ports such as Wexford to export cattle.

Dockers union representatives issued a warning at the Dublin cattle market on Prussia Street that if cattle were brought by or on behalf of the blacklisted shippers, then no port in the country would handle these stock. A fortnight later, there were concerns that the lairage across the Irish sea in Birkenhead would restrict or even close its doors to Irish store cattle.

‘Farmer Writes’ was known as farmers writing for farmers, and features Joe Bruton and Pat Bolger, who provided a contrast of the large and small farmer. Also featured was Bindon Blood. I’m not sure if it’s a pseudonym, but he writes of his move from Clare to a land commission farm in Meath.

Being parochial, there’s a pair of west Cork stories on page three of that edition. It carries a report on the advanced stages of plans for six creameries and Express Dairies to begin processing 30 million gallons of milk at Ballineen under the title of Carbery Creameries.

Fomer Minister for Agriculture, Charlie Haughey, is photographed opening the new buildings at Clonakilty agricultural college.