Lighten up: Auld Lehane's top 10 budget proposals to help struggling farmers

With Budget 2026 closing in faster than the plastic being stretched over a freshly-made silage pit, Denis Lehane has a shortlist of measures to encourage farmers to stick with the job

Would this finance minister like to be remembered as the man who presided over a mediocre budget — or the one who famously gave every farmer a brand-new tractor?

With the budget closing in faster than a roll of plastic over a freshly made pit of silage, our Auld Lehane has pieced together 10 budget proposals that he feels might encourage farmers to stick with the job, in spite of all the hardship.

Buy every farmer a new tractor