The coming year is shaping up to be a make-or-break year for Irish agriculture, with a number of critical policy decisions in the pipeline. The recently announced EU-Mercosur trade agreement has been set in principle by the European Commission and now moves to gain agreement from EU member states and the European Parliament. Achieving agreement requires at least 65% of the EU population plus the support of the European parliament. The Irish beef and poultry sectors are particularly exposed to the trade deal, as it grants Mercosur countries access to an EU quota of 99,000t of beef at 7.5% quota. This equates to over 20% of Irish beef exports. Nitrates