Back in early January I wrote here:

You would think that the Green Party should be doing better, attracting more votes than they do. Not just in Ireland, but everywhere. Eamon Ryan and his counterparts across Europe must scratch their heads every day and wonder, ‘Why are we not riding the crest of a wave here?’

In a time when the environment is front page news, you would have thought that that they’d have a much higher profile...

Look, the European elections in May might surprise us. Who knows, there might be a green wave coming...

I wished I’d put my money where my mouth was. But I wasn’t surprised with the results in last week’s local and European elections. I’m no political expert, we should all have seen it coming. And for those farmers who groaned audibly at the recent Beef Summit in Ballinasloe at any mention of climate change as reported by Thomas Hubert, well maybe now they will realise that we are indeed in changed times, whether they like it or not. Instead of worrying or resisting, Irish farming, needs to see the changing of the political guard as an opportunity and not a threat.

The Green Party spokesperson on agriculture Pippa Hackett is a beef farmer based in Offaly. They don’t bite! In fact, they have a comprehensive agricultural policy.

Many of the smaller less-intensive farmers I speak to are upset and frustrated at the way they are portrayed as environmental “terrorists”

It is three-years-old but certainly while some of their aspirations might be a tad fanciful, it is interesting that the language used is not in any way as aggressive as some of the more extreme environmental critics of Irish farming. It is worth a read and dare I say it, hard-pressed farmers will actually find themselves at one with the green view on sustaining incomes as well as protecting the environment and supporting livestock farming.

It is worth noting that they made progress at the polls at the expense of some of the hard left parties whom have no demonstrable love for farming or rural life, not that I know of anyway. Many of the smaller less-intensive farmers I speak to are upset and frustrated at the way they are portrayed as environmental “terrorists”.

Agriculture globally is intensifying but just how intensive are the vast majority of Ireland’s dairy and beef farmers in the global context? On Countrywide over recent weeks, we have showcased many ordinary farmers who are making efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and who are preserving the habitats to allow wildlife thrive.

For too long, farmers have been dragged along helplessly dependent on a volatile marketplace

So wouldn’t now be the perfect time for the Irish agricultural alliance to reach out to the swathe of new young councillors to collaborate? Collaborate by way of identifying measures which can develop policies which will allow farmers to reduce emissions while continuing to make a living and protect the land they farm.

For too long, farmers have been dragged along helplessly dependent on a volatile marketplace dictating increased production for a smaller income while we spend less on the food they produce.

Instead of venting fury at the processors and retailers which they have spent all their lives doing, isn’t this the perfect opportunity for them to explain their role as food producers to consumers and policymakers which will allow them to seek the necessary supports to do what needs to be done to not only produce food but prioritise their dual role as custodians of the countryside on our behalf? Instead of fearing the green wave, embrace it.

Safety first

It is silage-making season. It is never a waste of space to remind farmers to stop, think and farm safely. Would you want the grief of a fatal accident visited on your dear family and relations?