There is a changing of the guard taking place in the Irish farm organisations. Three of the main farm groups will have new presidents beginning their terms in 2024, while Macra president Elaine Houlihan took over mid-way through 2023.
Have you ever been so surprised at a statement that you’re a little bit lost for words? It was a feeling I experienced at a Sustainable Futures Forum hosted by UCC recently, where the keynote speaker was former president Mary Robinson.
Many of you will know the story of the emperor’s new clothes. A vain, all-powerful man is determined to have the most outrageously brilliant outfit ever created.
For full-time dry-stock and tillage farmers, CAP payments are a vital part of our farm income. I keep hearing that it would be better for farmers if there were no CAP payments, and we farmers got our income solely from the marketplace.
The Budget announcement of funding for only 4,000 additional farms in ACRES will leave those hoping to secure a place in the next round nervous, and looking to secure Tier 1 status in the hope of meeting the selection criteria.