As the Irish economy reopens over the coming weeks and society emerges from the COVID-19 bubble, we will begin to see where real damage has been inflicted on the economy.

Dealing with a global pandemic required an immediate response that no level of contingency planning could have fully prepared us for.

As we start the journey on the road back to normal, the phrase “new normal” is already a well-worn cliché.

Once we get the basics of a proper haircut, we all look forward to getting out to meet friends and business associates face to face again after what seems like a lifetime of online screen calls. We will appreciate the opportunity to have a drink in a noisy bar and enjoy a trip to our favourite restaurants.

Yet, we have to wonder will the new normal reveal that many of these haven’t survived the shutdown that has extended beyond a year? While this year’s report reveals the ingenuity of businesses adapting to survive the pandemic, it is inevitable that there are those that won’t make it.

While COVID-19 was a shock and a major disrupter, it is unlikely to have the same long-term impact on Irish agriculture and the food industry as Brexit.

Farming and food processing quickly adapted to keep food supplies going and it is a tribute to our farmers, factory workers and Department of Agriculture officials who, along with shop assistants, all kept the shelves stocked even at the height of panic-buying.

Online retail

Consumer behaviour adapted by returning to preparing food in the home, something that was an opportunity for retail and hastened online retail.

While COVID-19 was a shock and a major disrupter, it is unlikely to have the same long-term impact on Irish agriculture and the food industry as Brexit.

It is something that finally came to pass and in ordinary times would be the main event of the year.

Irish agriculture hasn’t yet felt the full impact because the UK hasn’t implemented border controls nor has it concluded major trade agreements giving enhanced access for agricultural produce to the UK market from outside the EU.

The principle has been established though by giving Canada a specific 3,000t beef quota and Irish agriculture faces the likelihood that this will be repeated with Australia, New Zealand and South American countries in time. All of this will devalue the UK market for Irish exports parallel to UK agricultural produce continuing to sell uninterrupted in the EU.

Climate change

Tackling climate change remains an ongoing issue and our familiarity with it makes it no less important.

It is a global issue that is being addressed at a national level and that has particular consequences for Ireland whose main natural resources are grass and water.

This makes us a particularly suitable area of the world for livestock production but, in the absence of a global approach to the issue, our agriculture will be forced to constrain its production capability.

This one size-fits-all approach to climate change may not be the best approach and Brexit will cast a long shadow over Irish agriculture

Irish farmers now need to focus on securing the funding at EU level through not just the CAP but the Just Transition Fund to enable them to concentrate on delivering the maintenance of the rural environment in the way that policymakers wish.

This one size-fits-all approach to climate change may not be the best approach and Brexit will cast a long shadow over Irish agriculture.

Yet, the key lesson from the global pandemic was the need to secure food supply and we need to remember that as we take on the challenges ahead.

Irish Farmers Journal editor Justin McCarthy.