The state broadcaster RTÉ “would want to change the narrative or broaden it greatly” on the relationship between water quality and agriculture.
That’s the opinion of one Co. Sligo farmer, who felt it was necessary to speak out on the issue after watching the last ever episode of Eco Eye, which was broadcast on RTÉ last week.
The final segment of that episode – titled Troubled Waters – saw host Duncan Stewart interview Dr. Elaine McGoff, natural environment officer with An Taisce.
Dr. McGoff discussed water quality issues in Ireland and said: “What we’re seeing nationally, the pattern is over and above all other pressures, agriculture is the main pressure.”
But according to farmer Martin McGarry – moderator of the Irish Suckler Society Facebook page – the Eco Eye episode was a “one-sided thing, just putting the blame totally on farmers”.
This, he told Agriland, is part of a wider issue of farming being highlighted as a cause of pollution and other environmental issues.
On Eco Eye, Dr. McGoff said that there has been a 40% increase in dairy cow numbers in the last decade, with a similar rate of increase in the use of artificial fertilisers in the same time period.
The An Taisce officer said: “We have to acknowledge that there is an awful lot of farmers who are doing the right thing… But the problem is we don’t have the safeguards in place to protect the environment from that expansion or from that intensification.
She added: “The agricultural pressure is a result of the agricultural model that we are following. The government has decided to follow this strategy of intensifying our agriculture, of intensifying dairy, while scientists are shouting from the roof tops about how unsustainable our agriculture system is.”
According to McGarry, commentary of this nature will lead to farmers being “completely overwhelmed”.
“Farmers are just small little enterprises. Even in the dairy sector, they’re not that big in a business sense. And yet they are being blamed for [water quality issues],” he said.
McGarry said that farmers – unlike state bodies that deal with raw sewage – are hindered in what actions they can take on environmental issues due to their economic position.
“Farmers are very limited in what they can do. Even in the dairy sector, where people say they do well, they have the hours they put in; they have to give themselves a reasonable wage from it; as well as that then make a profit and make a mark up for their reinvestment, because you’re talking about reinvestment on an ongoing basis,” he said.
McGarry added: “There’s a lot of regulation in dairying, and it’s a though business to be in now.”
He described suckler farming as “a disaster altogether”.
“Take my son, who has been farming for the last two years, he’s an educated young man, and he’s not going to take this nonsense from the government, state bodies, or RTÉ pumping out a narrative that doesn’t reflect the true reasons or people responsible for this pollution.
“Young people can see through that. We have difficulty getting young people into farming, but by God if they keep going on like that these young people are not going to take that. Because young people are up to speed on all the different platforms in the media, and they’re looking at this stuff. And they’re beginning to ask themselves if farming is worth it,” the retired farmer said.
He added: “Farmers my age, say 60-plus, they probably always had a frame of mind of being subservient to state agencies and state people. But young people are going to question everything, and we’re not going to get them involved if they are seeing that they’re going to get involved in an industry where there is very little income of out of.
“I’m afraid that what’s going to happen is that farmers one day will just say they’ve had enough, particularly suckler farmers. They’re going to say it’s not worth it anymore.”
As for the coverage of farming and environmental issues on the national broadcaster, McGarry said: “They would want to change the narrative or broaden it greatly as a state broadcaster if that’s the road they’re going to go down. They’re just joining the bandwagon and driving farmers off the land, and that’s how it is seen by farmers.”
He said farmers need to be seen as part of the necessary water quality and wider environmental change.
“You’ve got to work with people, and bring them along, and let them create the change, and they will do it,” he added.
“Incentivise them and give them the right direction. Farmers don’t look for a lot. They’re not used to making a big income. There’s a lot negativity as regards the future. I’ve heard different people saying they’re getting tired of this at this stage.”
“I’ve no problem with the changes that need to happen… Farmers can bring about the greatest change. Rather than failing them, what needs to be put out there is that farmers have the land, they have the ways and means of reducing carbon, and they need to be part of the solution,” McGarry remarked.