Championships ‘a showcase for Ireland’s best’

The three-day National Ploughing Championships which begin in Co Wexford today will again demonstrate that Irish farming is a modern, progressive and competitive part of both the national and the European economy, according to Dacian Ciolos, the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, who added that farming has long been at the heart of Irish society.

Mr Ciolos said the ploughing championships provide an occasion to look back at the progress that Irish farmers have made in providing nutritious and safe food for the European market, contributing significantly to Ireland’s balance of trade.

“It is an occasion to experience all that’s great about Ireland in terms of food, farming and countryside,” he said.

“But it is also an occasion to remind ourselves that farming needs to play its role in a changing world and that the purpose of the reformed CAP is to enable farmers to do so.”

Agriculture, Food, and Marine Minister Simon Coveney also described the championships as a celebration of all that is positive about Irish farming and the agri-food sector.

The achievements by food companies and farmers should be celebrated, he said, hailing the role played by the ploughing championships in rural life every year.

Mr Coveney said it was a very exciting period in the food industry and in farming, despite the wet summer, which caused many problems.

“We have been through a difficult summer with weather that has challenged every farmer,” said Mr Coveney.

“But we will get through that and we will continue to grow and expand as an industry.”

The North’s agriculture and rural development minister, Michelle O’Neill, said enterprising rural businesses will be a key feature of her department’s exhibition.

She said the exhibitors will promo a range of goods and services, light engineering, and research and development.

Ms O’Neill said the ploughing championships are always at the pinnacle of the Irish farming calendar and present agricultural and rural businesses with a unique opportunity to put their wares on show to a very large audience.

“In the current economic climate, everyone is after that extra edge in the marketplace,” she said, stressing that the championships have the potential to help improve diversifying farmers’ and rural business prospects.

Ms O’Neill said that this year her department will be facilitating a number of local rural enterprises that will showcase the North’s food and drink industry, light engineering, and rural tourism, as well as environmental products for equine and farming sectors.