Farmers must face up to changes

It was impossible that Minister for Agriculture Joe Walsh would emerge from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) negotiations in Luxembourg to the acclaim of farmers in all sectors of the industry, and inevitably that is what transpired.

The reaction here to the radical EU farm reform was mixed, with the minister simultaneously being accused of selling-out Irish farm interests, and also of achieving the best possible results for the country.

The agreement on changes to the CAP come after three weeks of intense, and at times acrimonious, negotiations by the EU's farm ministers and signal a new regime for the 45-year-old scheme.