Justin O’Grady, dairy farmer, Co Clare

“It has been quite dry, it’s a break-even situation at the moment. We’re getting 41c/l, costs are up now and we're feeding cows. Solids are slightly being affected and it’s been a slow spring, we're getting extremes of weather. We can’t isolate one year, we have to take the average of two or three years together, it's outside of our control and we have to get on with it.

“Certainly, Tirlán are going to do some damage, how much they will do we don’t know. They tell us they want to sell a portion of their milk and convert it into butter at a cheaper rate. Listen, if other co-ops follow suit, it’s going to wipe out Kerrygold, how long is a length of string with marketing. Personally, Kerrygold is a brand and it would have been better to leave well enough alone in my opinion.”

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Father and son Patrick and Jonathan Mulligan, suckler farmers from Co Fermanagh

“The last year was an exceptional year; there was plenty of fodder made, good quality of stuff and cattle are thriving over ground. The only thing about it is we could do with another wee drop of rain for grass to come, so far so good,” says Johnathan.

“I'd like to see better grants, to give them a better livelihood, because young farmers don’t have the livelihood at all that they should get. The hard work and long hours they do, there is no future in it. To work all the hours, you do and nothing at the end of the week, maybe at the end of two months when you sell a lot of stock, or something but it’s not like working in factories where you have your pay cheque in the bank every week,” says Patrick.

Carina Roseingrave, ambassador for women in agriculture, and mixed farm enterprise, Co Clare

“It’s been up and down, the price of milk is down at the moment but the price of beef is up, it’s slightly coming down at the moment as well. You have to take the good with the bad and stay positive as an Irish farmer because if you didn’t you would just talk about negativity.

“I would like to see support there for the younger farmer, to make sure that the younger farmer sees that there is a viable future in agriculture, that there is a support that if you take the risk to take on a farm, that there is a payment there for the young farmer to be able to give them a start. Everything has gone up in price, the cost of production has gone up in price but if we could get support from the EU, from the Department in relation to a payment that helps that young farmer take that risk, Irish agriculture will remain strong forever more."

Christopher and Eimear Tuffy, dairy farmers, Co Sligo

“We're milking 230 cows, in two leased farms so all spring calving. Weather this year and milk price, weather has been extreme we have had a wet spring and a dry summer. The dry summer has suited us and we got rain just in time. Milk prices have stabilised, we thought it would be a lot worse than what it is, if we hold around 40c/l, we're not too bad, it was heading for 30c/l at one stage, we will take 37c/l. Spring was quite tough with us but calf prices made up for that,” says Christopher.

Watch the interviews here: