More than 200 dairy, beef, tillage and sheep farmers have taken part in a “town hall” meeting in Co. Wexford to deliver a message that “enough is enough,” according to organisers.
The meeting, organised by a group who call themselves ‘Just Farmers’, aimed to give members of the farming community an opportunity to have their “voices heard” and to highlight some of their key frustrations.
Organisers told Agriland that the farmers who came to the meeting wanted to send a clear message that “enough is enough” in relation to the pressures they now face on the climate change front and the “negativity” that they perceive around farming from some areas.
“Farmers want to stay farming and they’re determined to keep going but the message is that enough is enough when it comes to what we are being asked to do and what it means for farming in this country.
“We have a serious competitive advantage with grass – but where are we going as a country when it comes to farming?
“Many farmers are very worried, particularly young farmers who don’t know if they even have a future in Ireland and that came across very strongly at the meeting,” they said.
The meeting was attended by a number of representatives from major farming organisations including both the president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), Denis Drennan and the deputy president of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Alice Doyle.
One of the major concerns raised at the meeting on Tuesday night (January 23) was around the drop in the derogation stocking rate to 220kg of organic nitrogen (N) per hectare in some parts of the country.
“This is a big concern to many farmers because they are asking themselves what’s next? If it goes to 170 then that’s the end.
“We all want to support the scientific evidence but we’re not to blame for everything – and we haven’t had the chance to have our say and to show what we’re doing. At the moment we’re not being listened to and we want to make sure that farmers have a voice.
“We want to back the farming organisations to give them a bigger mandate when they go to politicians and we want to make sure there is a future for farming in this country,” the organisers said.
The group behind Just Farmers said they intend to work now to promote the work that farmers are doing and help to inform more farmers and “when the calving season is over” they plan to organise further meetings.