It felt like it was farmers versus environmentalists last week, across all media forums. There appears to be little appetite to work together. I apologise, there is appetite to work together. The issue is, it’s in the form of “We need to work together but only if you do what I want.” It’s like a dispute at a child’s birthday party.

The sooner extremists on both sides of the environment versus farming debate are off the pitch, the better. Some of the protagonists seem more concerned with increasing their social media presence or getting a Dáil or county council seat at the next election. As a farmer, it was tough to listen to at times and eventually it became not worth tuning into at all.

Farmers and environmentalists have a lot of common ground and could be of great benefit to each other. There are respected voices in both camps.

Both sides need to work in tandem to achieve a common goal and that won’t be accomplished until moderate voices prevail. Unfortunately, they don’t make for good entertainment and that’s probably why they’re not heard of as much.

When it comes to how we communicate what happens on farms to the wider public, there is a leadership vacuum. Some public representatives who claim to have the farmers’ best interest at heart don’t always paint us in the best light either.

Something I have noted of late is an increase in individual farmers using social media to display the level of biodiversity on their farms. Not every farm is as bleak and barren as some would have you believe.

Since the introduction of milk quotas in 1984, farming has followed a pretty simple routine.

CAP had its various incarnations but the other standout policy that springs to mind is the nitrates directive in 2008. That heralded the introduction of calendar farming. It affected most farms in some form. Critically, with that policy change, there was a decent lead-in time to try to get things up to scratch.

Contrast that with the myriad changes being asked of farmers now.

In many cases, they are stepping up to the plate but there are going to be issues in adapting new practices and there will be a cultural shift required too.

Clover use isn’t a new phenomenon to me. I’ve a good handle on growing and using it and I’m still learning. In 2014, a livestock farmer in New Zealand told me “grass is a thing of the past.”

This statement has stuck with me. Grass-based production has been the backbone of marketing our dairy and meat products. If what he said was true, how would it affect the Irish livestock sector?

Referring to the possibilities offered by multi-species swards, he was finishing lambs on clover, plantain and chicory. Plants that spent the last 40 years being referred to as weeds are now seen in a new light. Maybe there are opportunities in what we dismissed for so long.

The same could be said of some of our rural areas. Maybe we just need to think sideways.

Some of the changes will occur organically over time and will be driven by the fact that families are smaller, education is better and young people will expect higher incomes.

Combine those factors with the climate challenge and the existing structures at farm level and there’s hope something could be worked out.