Rachel Martin: Where there's muck, there's opportunity - and here's why

Many livestock farmers say they have been forced to import straw from the UK at great personal expense.

There has been a lot of debate and anger over the last two weeks over the Straw Incorporation Measure and the Minister’s decision to halt it, and then the U-Turn which followed, but in my view, the scheme is flawed right from its initial concept.

I absolutely agree that it is entirely unjust that any farmer who signed up for a government scheme in good faith suddenly finds themselves losing out financially as a result of changes to policy. But it must also be recognised that straw really is in short supply for those who need it, and exceptional times, rightly, will always require exceptional measures.