Fair play to Harold Kingston.

The IFA’s Munster regional chair eloquently articulated the difficulties farmers face in communicating their fears and frustrations around the climate change proposals in a presentation for the recent Ludgate webinar.

He said that while banks can claim to be carbon-neutral and consumers can purchase “carbon-neutral petrol”, farmers are restricted from using carbon sequestered in their own land to offset their overall emissions.

At the same time, the “anti-farmer and anti-agriculture narrative” on social media and in sections of the general media mean that farmers who challenge the thrust of current policies are effectively pilloried, he told the forum.

Kingston expressed his frustration that carbon sequestered on his land will be taken by the State and could potentially be used to offset the carbon footprint “of somebody with a private jet flying to their holiday home in Malaga”, rather than being offset against food production.