A number of Irish agricultural anniversaries will occur in 2019. Bord Bia will be in existence 25 years. Macra na Feirme is around a bit longer and will celebrate 75 years since its inception. There is also a big agricultural centenary this year.

Less than a week after 29 March and the UK’s leaving of the EU, the Department of Agriculture will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Maybe it is as apt that confusion and uncertainty reign now just like in 1919. While the current minister has spent a lot of his time in office running around the world on trade missions to ease some of the potential fallout of British policy, the first man to head up the ministry was actually on the run from UK authorities.

The first minister for agriculture or director of agriculture as he was known was Wicklow TD Robert Barton. Having escaped from Mountjoy on the eve of St Patrick’s Day in 1919, he was tasked with developing the Department of Agriculture and did so until his recapture 10 months later.

The position had no seat at cabinet at the time. Instead, the Wicklow TD was called to attend certain meetings. Arthur Griffith represented the department at the cabinet table through his role as minister for home affairs.

Agriculture House on Kildare Street is a far cry from the headquarters used in the early days of the department. The first office of the newly formed entity was at 44 Oakley Road, Rathmines. This was the home of Áine Ceannt, widow of executed 1916 leader Eamon Ceannt. Following work on promoting the Land Bank, Barton subsequently moved his office to its facilities on Leeson Street.

Civil servants and advisers were in short supply during the creation of the state. With no typist available, all official work was carried out in Barton’s own handwriting on duplicated paper.

Robert Barton was rearrested following an Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society Ltd (IAWS) meeting in the Mansion House on 31 January 1920. The ministry was run by Art O’Connor during Barton’s imprisonment in England.

Closer to home, 2019 marks both the 30th year that cows will be calved in the herd. Numbers have grown since the initial collection of four cows. About 20% of the current herd is descended from those foundation heifers. This is also my 30th year of cattle ownership. I sunk a significant proportion of first communion fund into buying a calf. I’m lucky enough to fulfill my childhood ambitions of becoming a farmer. There were, and continue to be, realities faced in this occupation but that is all part of the challenge. The key is to control what you can and operate as best you can with market and weather variables.

For the coming year, I’d like to see the greater agricultural industry take an interest in welfare. Farmer welfare.

In a physical sense, the heads and hearts of farmers had an extremely testing time in 2018. The effects of the year will linger in many yards for some time to come. A farmer said to me recently that while the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) places an emphasis on the safety element of its title, maybe it needs to do more work on health too. This does not just apply to the HSA. It is appropriate to all agribusinesses dealing with farmers. I’ve been guilty at times of forgetting there is more to life than the farm.

There is a glimmer of hope with the appearance of the term “work-life balance” now appearing in some of the upcoming agri conferences.