Farmers that I have been speaking to are furious at what they regard as the ‘stitch up’ that was the emissions reduction deal, arrived at by the government parties last week.
Irrespective of what the 2030 deal means from an emissions perspective, Irish farmers are totally against any move that might be made by government to impose reductions in livestock numbers.
And they sense that moves will soon be afoot to kick such ideas into play.
Impact of emissions reduction deal
In the here and now, farmers are rightly concentrating on getting the harvest saved and the silage they need for the coming winter saved.
Thankfully, the weather continues to hold up for those farmers with grain to cut. There is also ample evidence to confirm that cattle have never looked better at this time of the year, despite the decision taken by many herd owners to cut fertiliser rates earlier in the spring.
But come the autumn, I sense that many farmers will sit down and gives serious thought to the decisions that were taken by the government parties over recent days.
These were the same farmers who were told a very short time ago to increase Irish milk output by 50%, in the wake of European Union (EU) dairy quotas ending.
And they responded in kind. But all of this came at a cost in terms of investment plans that will take many years to pay back.
Meanwhile, farmers in other sectors who see a future in agriculture, both for themselves and the generations that follows, have also invested accordingly.
It is as if the government has lost all perspective of the reality that the world will need all the food it can produce as the global population figure races toward the nine billion mark.
Sustainability
Meanwhile, Ireland boasts one of the most sustainable agri-food sectors in the world.
So the very coherent argument goes as follows – if we do not produce the food, countries like Brazil will.
And in their case, an adherence to any form of compliance with climate change mitigation measures could be very nebulous.
So, yes, Irish farmers have every right to be furious. And I sense this anger could well manifest itself in the form of serious protest over the coming months.
And the spark that will set it all off is any move by the government to reduce livestock numbers.
Given this developing situation, it would behove agriculture minister, Charlie McConalogue, to clarify his own views on this very important matter in the very near future. The clock is ticking.