Sinn Féin’s agriculture spokesperson was in straight-talking mode at the ICMSA agm on Monday.

While party leader Mary Lou McDonald was the main speaker in the first session of a hectic afternoon, Carthy made a number of strong statements in the following lengthy question and answer session.

In reply to a question on funding for the dairy calf to beef scheme, he said: “Every year we produce an alternative budget. We don’t get away with bullshitting you -we didn’t provide for more funding for the dairy calf beef scheme.

"To be quite frank, we want to analyse it further. We want to make sure the correct model is being used.”

He also told a room of dairy farmers that Irish suckler beef was the brand that has given Ireland such a positive image.

He decribed it as “the most valuable but the least profitable sector.”

He was then warned by one farmer “you better get into power soon or it will be too late” for the suckler sector.

Environmental regulations were repeatedly criticised through the day. Despite Sinn Féin and later Fianna Fáil being present, it was the Green Party who were the focus of farmer ire.

“Where are we being driven, farmers are living in fear,” Ned O’Keeffe said.

Fixed milk price contracts came up. “The decent thing to do is re-negotiate,” said Carthy.

Sinn Féin said that farmers have fallen behind their counterparts in Northern Ireland when it came to renewables, and the blame for that “lies with the Government.”