IFA environment chair Paul O’Brien. \ Finbarr O'Rourke
ADVERTISEMENT
Farmers can’t take “leaps of faith” when it comes to climate measures if they are unsure of financial support, IFA environment chair Paul O’Brien has said.
Speaking at the EPA annual conference, O’Brien criticised a lack of engagement with farmers by climate policymakers and warned they are being “spoken to and not with”.
“Farmers will go on this [emissions reduction] journey but we can’t jump off this cliff and hope someone catches us,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
O’Brien said that when answers aren’t forthcoming on the impact of climate measures and the cost, “suspicion fills the void”.
He refuted claims that farmers are climate deniers and said it is “the biggest challenge of our farming career”.
Young farmers
Young Cork dairy farmer and Macra member Nicole Keohane backed O’Brien and described how decades of production driven farm policy from Government has been “thrown out the window overnight”.
“We are on the right road. We just need to be more cohesive.
“You can’t be green if you’re in the red,” she added.
Register for free to read this story and our free stories.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
Farmers can’t take “leaps of faith” when it comes to climate measures if they are unsure of financial support, IFA environment chair Paul O’Brien has said.
Speaking at the EPA annual conference, O’Brien criticised a lack of engagement with farmers by climate policymakers and warned they are being “spoken to and not with”.
“Farmers will go on this [emissions reduction] journey but we can’t jump off this cliff and hope someone catches us,” he said.
O’Brien said that when answers aren’t forthcoming on the impact of climate measures and the cost, “suspicion fills the void”.
He refuted claims that farmers are climate deniers and said it is “the biggest challenge of our farming career”.
Young farmers
Young Cork dairy farmer and Macra member Nicole Keohane backed O’Brien and described how decades of production driven farm policy from Government has been “thrown out the window overnight”.
“We are on the right road. We just need to be more cohesive.
“You can’t be green if you’re in the red,” she added.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address. Please click on the link in this email to reset your password. If you can't find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you can't find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
SHARING OPTIONS