Three issues to dominate farming related discussions at Ploughing this week in Offaly

AHEAD of the Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Co Offaly, IFA President Francie Gorman said that while there are many issues of concern to farmers, there are three major ones on the Minister’s desk that will define his first year in office.

“I would expect the mood among farmers to be generally good as the year has turned out quite well from a weather and price perspective. However, the tillage sector, is under huge pressure and will need immediate Government support if it is to survive.”

Francie Gorman said the IFA National Tillage Crisis meeting held in Naas on Friday night last highlighted the many challenges that exist. “It’s one of our priorities for Budget ’26 and growers made a very strong case to the Minister about how precarious their future is. We have identified a range of other policy measures ahead of the Budget in October and we will be engaging with party leaders and politicians over the next three days,” he said.

The other two issues are at EU level and both are critical to the future of the sector. One is the renewal of the Nitrates derogation and the other is the Mercosur trade deal.

“A decision on the renewal of derogation is due before year end. The sector has made significant strides in improving water quality and there is a strong focus on delivering further improvements. It’s imperative that the scale of this work is conveyed to the EU Commission ahead of their decision,” he said.

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The IFA President said the Government and the Minister must continue to build alliances with others who remain opposed to the Mercosur trade deal. “Given our export profile, and the threat posed by trade deals between the UK and 3rd countries, this is a red line issue for us. The Commission ‘safeguards’ do not provide us with any reassurance. DG Sante has raised questions about production standards in Brazil that simply do not meet the standards that apply here.”

“There’s a lot at stake between now and year end in terms of the future of the sector. Encouraging new entrants very much depends on creating optimism among those in farming at the moment. The right outcome on each issue is needed to give a positive signal to those who may be thinking of a career in farming,” he concluded.

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