Local tillage farmers affected by the change in dates for Electric Picnic 2024 met last week with the organiser of the event, Melvin Benn, and have reached a compromise.

Benn promised the farmers that the new date announced for 2024 would only be for one year and that he would pay for a special unit of gardaí to help escort combines that needed to move around the area during next year’s event.

The three-day music and arts festival which takes place in Stradbally, Co Laois, is set to take place from 16 to 18 August next year, two weeks earlier than it normally takes place.

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This caused consternation among local tillage farmers as the new date would potentially stop them from accessing their crops during peak harvest time.

“We couldn’t stop the Electric Picnic next year unless we stopped it completely and we don’t want to do that.

“We wanted to change the dates, we never wanted to stop it, that was never part of our plan,” local tillage farmer Paul Cushen told the Irish Farmers Journal.

The only other option for farmers to take, according Cushen, was to put in a strong letter of objection to Laois County Council asking them to refuse Electric Picnic organisers a licence.

However, Cushen said that the delegation of local farmers did not want to go down that route.

“As long as he’s a man of his word and it’s one year only but I couldn’t face the rest of my life with that going on.

“It’s not the result that we wanted, it’s a compromise and we are going to have to live with it for this year and just hope for the best,” Cushen said.