Good week for…

  • All farmers, as Commissioner Phil Hogan confirmed that 70% of their BPS money will be paid on 16 October and €160m in ANC payments will start to roll out.
  • Ploughing queen Anna May McHugh, who drew another record crowd to Tullamore. Joining 291,000 farmers and their families were An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, who hinted at the prospect of further low-cost loans, and EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan, who warned that beef will be part of a Mercosur trade deal. Catch up with all of our Ploughing 2017 coverage here.
  • Fifteen-year-old Jack Nagle, whose tractor safety lock won the People’s Choice award in the Innovation Arena at the Ploughing.
  • The next generation of farmers, as a poll of 1,000 farmers shows that young farmers are bulling to expand.
  • Bad week for…

  • Two-thirds of farmers who are so cash-strapped that they are leaning on their merchants, vets and contractors for longer periods of credit, according to a survey of 1,000 farmers carried out by the Irish Farmers Journal and Rec C.