Dear reader,

In these uncertain times, I wanted to write to you to let you know what we are doing here in the Irish Farmers Journal to ensure that we remain in a position to provide you with trusted and valuable content, while also protecting the safety of our team.

The majority of our staff are now working remotely, but they are as committed as ever to producing the best possible content for our readers – both in print and online.

While working remotely, our team will keep you informed as the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation evolves. We will continue to bring you the latest information on how measures introduced impact on the farming community and give key advice on what steps farmers can take to minimise disruption to their business and keep their families safe.

Market demand

Of course, in these uncertain times, it has never been more important for you to have access to accurate information on market prices.

Our team of specialists will continue to monitor market demand across all the key commodities and provide regular updates in relation to price trends. Our comprehensive coverage of mart prices will also continue.

We are also extremely conscious that normal farming activity must continue. Cows will still be milked, crops planted, fertiliser spread and breeding programmes commenced.

It has been a challenging spring to date, with livestock farmers having to adopt a smash-and-grab approach to grazing while tillage farmers have yet to commence spring planting. Hopefully the more favourable weather conditions forecast for the end of the week will materialise.

Practical steps

This week’s Irish Farmers Journal will contain practical steps to help get your farm back on track. And as always, the print edition will be available in shops nationwide this Thursday or, if you prefer, you can read our ePaper (which is a replica of the printed edition) online at farmersjournal.ie.

Meanwhile, the Irish Farmers Journal team is 100% committed to helping the farming community get through these challenging, uncertain and indeed worrying times.

Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any suggestions as to how we can further assist our community during this difficult period.

Yours sincerely,

Justin McCarthy,

Editor & CEO,

The Irish Farmers Journal.