How can election candidates secure the votes of beef farmers?

The dairy beef production incentive which ICMSA has called for would be a rare item of good news in the beef sector, if Agriculture Minister Michael Creed were to go along with it.

Meat Industry Ireland says there are “green shoots” in the beef market, and these should hopefully feed through in terms of positive price developments soon.

Key positives included access to talent, quality third level education and the pro-business policies of successive governments.

Business leaders are confident about the prospects for growth in Cork despite the challenges facing the region.

The average dairy farmer can expect to pay as much as €600 extra per annum for contractors, within ten years, after the Budget brought a 1.6% carbon tax increase in agri-diesel charges, which is expected to be repeated every year for the next ten years.

There has been a big rise in the number of farm families who say religious services have been cut in their area.

A bishop has given his support for a specially devised delegation process for the ordination of women priests.

Only Kerry Group has held its price for August milk, with most of the big buyers cutting 1 cent per litre (cpl), compared to July. Suppliers to the top-paying West Cork co-ops will be affected by a Carbery price cut of 1cpl.

The 2019 National Ploughing Championships end tomorrow evening. Ireland’s most popular outdoor event, and one of Europe's biggest, it was attended by almost a quarter of a million people last year. It is more than unlikely, hopefully, that the figure fell as dramatically as farmer confidence collapsed in the last year.

Ireland’s reputation is important in the global beef industry, but the industry is now at tipping point, he said.

Farmers will see an immediate increase in the price they receive for their cattle following a deal with meat producers.

Eamonn Pitts One of the most radical ideas at the ICMSA climate think-tank came from UCD Professor of Economics Colm McCarthy.

Many farmers accept that the world is warming, that this warming is potentially disastrous for our grandchildren, that this change has been caused substantially by human actions, and that much of the damaging greenhouse gas generated in Ireland arises on farms.

Efforts by Ireland and other EU countries to find new dairy product export destinations are threatened by the Indonesian government’s proposal to increase import tariffs.

Extreme weather events were central to farmers taking a hit of more than €500m in increased feed, forage and fertiliser costs during 2018, according to the ICMSA.

The €100m Beef Brexit Fund must be distributed to all farmers who incurred losses in beef production, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association has insisted.

Any new measures being placed upon farms stocked below 170kgN/ha would undermine the viability of farming, warns ICMSA’s farm and rural affairs chairman, Denis Drennan.

ICMSA dairy chairperson, Ger Quain, said that any move by dairy co-ops to cut their April milk price will cause widespread anger among farmers.

Agriculture Minister Michael Creed has welcomed the EU’s new €1bn fund of low-interest loans targetting young farmers.

The Dairygold Co-op board has maintained the March milk price at the February level of 31.19 cent per litre (cpl), including VAT, and a 0.65cpl quality and sustainability bonus.

Farmers have welcomed the launch of Glanbia Ireland and Kepak’s new Twenty20 Beef Club, offering members a guaranteed market for their heifers and steers.

I met EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan last Thursday in Brussels to discuss the ongoing uncertainty over Brexit and the crippling effect the chaos is having on Ireland’s farming and wider agri-food sector and the financial losses being suffered by farmers.

For the €300m SME Brexit Loan Scheme to work for farmers, they would need the minimum loan amount to be dropped from €50,000 to €20,000, said ICMSA farm business chairman Shane O’Loughlin.

Farmers’ loyalty to their local co-ops is being severely tested by the widening gap between the best and worst prices offered for milk supplies, said ICMSA dairy chairman Ger Quain.

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has said the imposition of tariffs as outlined by UK proposals in a no-deal Brexit would put Irish farmers in a “vulnerable position”, threatening the Irish beef sector and seriously damaging the country’s agri-food exports.

Outlining unpleasant-looking tariffs that will cost Irish farmers dearly could cause the alliance between Ireland the other EU member states to creak a little, says Noel Baker.

The so-called Planetary Health Diet is significantly healthier than the Business as Usual diet... a win for the planet, says Victoria White.

Farmer groups have welcomed the timely roll-out of GLAS scheme payments to 33,000 participants, adding that it is essential that the remaining 16,000 farmers are also paid without delay.

The selling of bank debt to vulture funds may be one of the factors behind a significant increase in the percentage of farmers saying their farm debt is too high, in the 2018 Irish Examiner/ICMSA Farming opinion poll.