The message from the IFA at their rural development funding rally in Mullingar was clear – full euro-for-euro co-funding is not the maximum the Government can provide, it is the minimum.

When IFA president John Bryan took to the floor to open the meeting in front of a packed attendance of 2,000 farmers, he must have been reminded of some of the tough meetings in the spring.

The stress of IFA maintaining a united front during the endgame of the CAP negotiations was considerable, amidst the confusion of a bewildering range of proposals, front-loading, approximation, flat payments and historical payments.

Now, however, there was absolute unity among farmers. The money delivered from the CAP process can drive farming forward, in turn fuelling recovery across the wider economy.

The best analogy given in Mullingar was after the meeting, when one farmer said that pulling schemes like REPS, DAS and the suckler cow payment is like pulling the plug from the bottom of the boat when at sea – the ship sinks.

The economic argument is simple – drystock farmers will go out of business without significant Pillar II support. If they stop producing, the economy loses out (jobs and exports). Every €1 invested will return a €4 dividend for the economy.

The rally saw a compelling argument presented for full 50:50 co-funding of the rural development programme over the next seven years. The economic analysis from the top table was convincing.

Thia Hennessy, Teagasc, explained that drystock farmers depend on Pillar II payments for viability. She highlighted that farmers in the west and border regions are more dependant on the payments, as their single farm payment (SFP) is not as high as elsewhere.

These are the farmers on the worst land, with the toughest farming conditions, and the lowest incomes. She also pointed out that off-farm income has vanished. One in three farm families have lost off-farm employment over the last five years.

Dr Alan Renwick, UCD, provided the proof that co-funding is a justifiable investment for government.

Henry Burns, livestock chairman, and James Murphy, sheep chairman, in contrast, showed the debilitating effect of the withdrawal of support from the drystock sector – the closure of REPS, DAS cuts and the suckler cow payment all biting at farm incomes.

But it was the testimony from the floor, speaker after speaker from all over the country, that really clinched the argument.

Farmers are hanging on by their fingertips the meeting was told. Any support will help them hang on, but only full co-funding will put a package of measures in place to underpin production across drystock farms.

John Bryan outlined his vision of a balanced CAP deal in Claremorris, Co Mayo, to a large crowd that was at first hostile. He won them over that night, explaining that support for active farmers meant two pillars working in harmony.

Pillar I should see minimum cuts to direct payments for active farmers; Pillar II should provide the broad supports for more vulnerable sectors. That would require full co-funding – over €300m a year from government for seven years, to match the €313m from Brussels.

On Tuesday night, his entire organisation endorsed that vision, and told Minister Simon Coveney that he will be judged on its delivery.