On Thursday 28 April from 2.00pm to 8.00pm an open day on the new trailer regulations will take place in Robert O’Shea’s yard in Littleton, Thurles, Co Tipperary. All are welcome to attend this event, the first of its kind in Munster.

From 1 January this year the game changed for agricultural equipment on the road. The revised road standards have led to some confusion and anxiety among farmers.

The debate rages over new equipment needed to comply for use on the road, and on the flip side of that is the discussion over the current fleet of trailers and tractors already in use on the farm. Some smaller farmers are now wondering is investment in repairs or updates justified.

The aim of the day is to provide as much information as possible according to Robert O’Shea who, along with Garda Eddie Golden and the Irish Farmers Journal, has put the event together.

Robert adds that most farmers want to comply with the new regulations, for a couple of reasons – to ensure the tractors and machines are safe for use on the road, and also to avoid costly downtime with non-compliant machines.

On the day, a full range of equipment typically found on the farm from sprayers to forage harvesters will be examined for use on the road.

The rules that have been introduced by the RSA will be analysed from the point of view of enforcement by the gardaí, and operation by the farmers.

Irish Farmers Journal machinery editor James Maloney will chair the discussion and provide interpretation of the rules.

Questions are encouraged from the public who cannot attend on facebook and Twitter. A video of the event will also be available on farmersjournal.tv. There will be signposts directing people to the event from the centre of Littleton.