Sun shines on Ratheniska as thousands set to attend Ploughing ...

yesterday

Kildare Now

Thousands of people are expected to attend the first day of the Ploughing Championships held in the expansive farmlands of Ratheniska in Co Laois.

Ratheniska - Figure 1 — Photo Kildare Now

The numbers in attendance this year are expected to surpass last year’s total, when just over 200,000 braved wet and windy conditions.

Temperatures of just under 20C on Tuesday are expected to draw huge crowds to view the various stalls showcasing everything from farm machinery to welly throwing to a brown bread-making competition.

Irish President Michael D Higgins will formally open the exhibition of farming and rural life on Tuesday afternoon.

Taoiseach Simon Harris, Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald and First Minister Michelle O’Neill are among the politicians expected to attend on Tuesday as they gear up for a general election in the coming months.

Denis Drennan, president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), said that farmers had been at the centre of “a perfect storm” for over a year.

He said that farmers’ income had “absolutely collapsed” across all sectors in 2023 compared to the previous year and for the dairy sector the drop was even greater – at 69%.

“Farmers’ incomes have got worse this year due – I know it’s hard to believe today, it’s a picture postcard day out there at the moment – but the weather for the past 15 months has been horrific.

“And then we have rules and regulations coming at us left, right and centre from an environmental point of view that people want to engage with but comes at a cost as well.

Ratheniska - Figure 2 — Photo Kildare Now

“So when your income is down, bad weather, a lot of regulation and a high cost system since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, so there’s a lot of things pitching against us and morale is low at the moment.”

He said that there was “very little” for farmers in the last budget and they are hoping an income volatility tool will be included in Budget 2025 to “smooth out the highs and lows of farming” and help make the sector more attractive for young people tempted by tech and pharma jobs.

“We’ve never had a lower number of farmers under 35. There’s a 16% drop in the number of students applying in the CSO for agricultural courses, so we are really at a crossroads here and we need to do something to make the industry more attractive, or else we’re going to run out of farmers.”

Francie Gorman, president of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), said this was an expensive time for all families and that delays in payments had put huge pressure on household budgets.

He called for support for the tillage sector and the “vulnerable” beef and sheep sectors, and for the cost of doing business and cost of borrowing money to be addressed.

He said: “Overall, it’s the cost of doing business, supports for the vulnerable sectors, and to see that RZLT (Residential Zoned Land Tax) sorted out.

“We were promised it would be done in last year’s budget, they came with a process for farmers to dezone land, and they’re looking at the process for dezoning land again and that’s not good enough.

“We need a definition of an active farmer, and that active farmer should not be encapsulated in the Residential Zoned Land Tax.”

He said there was evidence that if the farming groups work together on certain issues they can affect change, and “maybe keeps us honest”.

“Anna May McHugh, that runs the Ploughing Championships, always made that point to me that you’re always better working together and be united in rural Ireland than not because there’s enough people outside it looking to cut a lump out of us,” he said.

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