Despite opinion polls suggesting the margin would be close, the referendum result was expected to confirm that the UK would remain in the EU up to and including the exit poll.

Even Nigel Farage, the long-term campaigner for Brexit, conceded he thought the referendum was lost at the start of the count.

By 5am on 24 June 2016 it was confirmed that the UK had voted to leave the EU by a margin of 52% to 48%.

Scotland voted to remain in the EU by 62% to 48% and Northern Ireland by 56% to 44% but as the referendum was for the UK as a whole, these regional votes didn’t matter – the UK was leaving the EU.

The most immediate impact of the vote was the value of sterling against the euro. Sterling was at 76.3p = £1 on the day of the poll, 23 June.

As the results became clear, sterling plummeted to 81.2p within 24 hours and would fall over the summer and into the autumn when it fell as low as 90p = €1 by October. It is currently trading at 87.5p = €1.

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Impact on farmers

Beef producers in Ireland took an immediate and hard hit, with R3 steers down 20c/kg in value for the week ending 23 July 2016.

Irish cattle prices continued in a depressed state until recovery began in March this year.

For Northern Ireland and Scottish farmers, it was the opposite, with a weakening sterling making their beef more competitive in EU export markets. Prices are around 40p /kg (46c/kg) better in June this year compared with a year ago.

Farmers in the sterling area received a further bonus as the rate of exchange used for making euro based CAP payments in sterling is set at the end of September each year.

Farmers in Northern Ireland and Scotland received a 20% lift in the value of CAP payments in 2016. So far there has been no downside for farming in the UK from the vote.

Procedures

It was the end of March 2017 when the UK formally notified the EU it would be leaving.

Much debate took place on what Brexit would look like and it appeared that the UK wanted to put as much distance between it and the EU as possible.

Withdrawal from the single market and the customs union would have drastic consequences for Irish beef and cheese sales to the UK and for Northern Ireland lambs and milk coming south for processing.

Theresa May’s decision to call an election which unexpectedly wiped out her majority in parliament has created further uncertainty around what shape of Brexit the UK will settle for.

Lots of concerned comment has been made by the UK and EU negotiators about the Irish border but it will only be when a new trading arrangement is arrived at that we will be able to accurately assess the consequences for Ireland.

Negotiations began this week and the EU lead negotiator Michel Barnier has set October 2018 as the target for concluding talks, which is considered optimistic by most commentators.