Richard Halleron argues in a signed column for Agriland that Budget 2027, due on 6 October, will be a watershed for Irish agriculture, an industry under heavy economic pressure. The views are the writer's own.
His case starts with costs: fertiliser, fuel, machinery and labour keep rising, he writes, and livestock farmers now face the prospect of feed costs climbing sharply in the coming weeks and months. At the same time, he notes, government tax revenues have never been more buoyant, so the money exists to put farming on a proper footing.
Support, in his view, is not only money paid into farmers' accounts. Each family farm should be able to invest in its future and adopt new technology, improve stock and management standards, raise animal health, welfare, environmental and safety standards, and attract more young people into the sector.
He also turns to the Common Agricultural Policy, where he says progress on reform remains painstakingly slow. Irish farmers want a policy that reflects the particular needs of production agriculture in their part of Europe, he writes, even if that means Ireland securing greater national powers, and Ireland's presidency of the European Union is a unique chance to push for it.
Photo: Mike Peel / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Agriland
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