Three of the biggest days in Irish agriculture are upon us with the 2019 National Ploughing Championships ready to kick off this Tuesday, September 17, to Thursday, September 19, at its new home in Fenagh, Co. Carlow.
Whether you intend to visit the jam-packed agri event for one day, two days, or not at all, you will be able to soak up all the atmosphere from afar by tuning into AgriLand’s live stream – which will be broadcast live over the course of the ‘Ploughing’.
For the third year running, AgriLand – the largest agricultural information portal in the country – is the official live-stream partner of the National Ploughing Association (NPA) – and there is something for everyone in this year’s show.
From in-depth interviews and broad panel discussions to fun and entertaining chats with special guests, the AgriLand marquee – located at Block 3; Row 17; Stand 379 – is definitely worth a visit this week.
The AgriLand live stream, which is currently live now, will begin at 11:00am each day.
Below is a flavour of what can be expected:
Tuesday, September 17
11:00am: News editor Claire Mc Cormack will host a panel discussion on the beef crisis with independent TD for Roscommon-Galway Michael Fitzmaurice; IFA vice-presidential candidate Brian Rushe; and Bord Bia’s senior manager for meat and livestock Joe Burke.
12:00pm: Beef specialist Niall Claffey will sit down with Teagasc’s Pearse Kelly and suckler-to-beef farmer James Madigan to discuss the options available to beef and suckler farmers under the current price climate.
1:00pm: Dairy specialist Emma Gilsenan will chair a panel discuion on sector challenges with Teagasc’s Joe Patton, ICBF’s Siobhán Ring and dairy farmer Owen Brodie.
1:30pm: ICMSA president Pat McCormack will join Claire for a one-to-one interview on barriers to expansion.
2:00pm: Claire will host a panel discussion on the EU-Mercosur trade deal and the threat it poses for the Irish beef sector with ICSA’s Eddie Punch and Fianna Fáil’s Charlie McConalogue.
2:30pm: Tillage specialist Siobhán Walsh will chair a panel discussion on what the sector’s farmers are doing for the environment and what they can expect from the next CAP, with Garreth Culligan of BASE Ireland and John Muldowney from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
3:00pm: Claire will sit down with Donegal Co-op Livestock Mart manager Eimear McGuinness to discuss new representative entity Mart Managers of Ireland.
Wednesday, September 18
11:00am: News editor Claire Mc Cormack will chair a discussion with IFA presidential candidates John Coughlan, Tim Cullinan and Angus Woods on their vision for the future of the farm organisation.
12:00pm: Beef specialist Niall Claffey will sit down with Bord Bia’s senior manager for meat and livestock Joe Burke to discuss markets for Irish beef.
12:30pm: The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, will join Claire live in studio.
1:00pm: Tillage specialist Siobhán will sit down with Fine Gael’s Pat Deering to discuss the status of last year’s report on the future of the tillage sector in Ireland.
2:30pm: Michael Hoey, managing director at Country Crest, joins presenter Claire to reflect on how he developed a small potato business into a multi-million euro food company over the last 26 years.
3:00pm: Niall and Teagasc’s Alan Dillon will give an update on the Teagasc Green Acre Calf to Beef Programme and how it’s progressing on the ground.
Thursday, September 19
11:00am: Beef specialist Niall Claffey will chair another discussion on the Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme, this time with programme advisor Séan Cummins and two participating farmers.
12:00pm: Presenter Claire Mc Cormack will discuss agriculture’s carbon footprint with ICMSA’s Denis Drennan; Minister for State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture, Andrew Doyle; and the IFA’s Thomas Cooney.
12:30pm: Eoin Donnelly of the Beef Plan Movement sits down with Claire to discuss the outcome of the weekend’s beef sector reform talks.
1:00pm: Tillage specialist Siobhán Walsh chairs a tillage panel discussion that takes a hard look at the inner workings of the drinks industry with farmer Seamus Duggan and director of Drinks Ireland, Patricia Callan.
1:30pm: Well-known sheep shearer and mental health advocate George Graham will join presenter Claire Mc Cormack to highlight the importance of farmers looking after themselves.
2:00pm: Niall will sit down with Paul Hyland and Christy Watson of the Irish Grassland Association to talk about the organisation and its plans for the future.
This is just a taster of what is to come from inside the AgriLand marquee. Our team will also be out and about getting all the latest from the ploughing fields, exhibition stands and livestock and innovation arenas.
The live stream is available across all our platforms, including our Facebook and Twitter pages.
If you are attending the ‘Ploughing’ one of the days, be sure to pop in to meet any member of the AgriLand team.