With the general election just around the corner, Kerry Macra gathered the local candidates to get their point of view on all things agriculture.

Each politician was given two minutes for an introduction and what they want to achieve, with proceedings hosted by Macra’s agriculture and rural affairs manager Derry Dillon.

The candidates who took part in the debate were Arthur Spring (Labour Party), John Brassil (Fianna Fáil), Jimmy Deenihan (Fine Gael), Michael Healy-Rae (Independent), Michael O’Gorman (Independent), Martin Ferris (Sinn Féin) and Henry Gainer (Independent), while Tom Fleming sent apologies for his absence due to sickness.

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The participants were then offered to the floor for questions, and allowed a further one minute to sum everything up.

Candidates quizzed on competition between beef factories

Throughout the evening, Larry Goodman’s control of the national kill was the main topic of interest, with many Macra members raising issues surrounding ABP’s feedlots and the magic number of 30,000 head slaughter per week.

Calendar farming also drew some attention, with the young farmers in attendance pleading with politicians to enforce a commonsense approach towards slurry spreading by calendar if they were to get into power. Macra member Michelle O’Callaghan explained to candidates the insanity of being able to spread in January when it’s pouring down and not in a dry November.

Another point of concern from young farmers was the uncertainty and volatility of both milk and beef prices in the coming months and years.

One member of the audience made the point that although a 2014 IFA survey shows farm income increased by 97% over the past 10 years, when inflation is included, farmers actually saw a drop of 38%, which is unsustainable if it continues.

Kerry Macra chair John Michael Fitzgerald said after the event: “On behalf of all Kerry Macra, I would like to sincerely thank all the politicians for showing up and getting involved. It turned out to be a great night that was beneficial to all in attendance.”

Kerry Macra is also holding an information night on 27 January in the Riverisland Hotel in Castleisland. This will include talks from AIB on finance for farmers, the Kerry Group on current markets and trends, as well as speakers from Lee Strand, the IFA, marts and a beef sector specialist.