Ireland’s farmers have been 'sold out' to green agenda by the Government for power

Laois people were the first supporters thanked by new Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) President Francie Gorman when he sat down with the Leinster Express to discuss winning the election to lead Ireland’s biggest farming organisation.

“It’s a big thing for Laois IFA. I got huge support from all the members and county officers in the county. Everybody is delighted that I’m elected it’s about justifying that support now,” he said.

 The Ballinkakill man acknowledged, in his words the, “enormity” of the role he is taking on in representing the members of one of Ireland’s most powerful organistions.

“The IFA President is the face of the organisation across a whole range of functions from politics to business to banking the EU and beyond,” he said.

Mr Gorman does not believe that the Government and powers that be underestimate the strength of the IFA but does acknowledge that the public and perhaps some farmers may not appreciate its scale and impact.

“There are very few other organisations outside of the GAA that would have their tentacles in every parish in the country. We have 940 branches and 72,000 members,” he said.

He acknowledged that there is pressure in leading an organisation of such a large scale but it is not something he fears.

“For me, there is only one word that describes taking on this role and that is responsibility to the members and trying to deliver for them.

“I hope over the next four years to live up to the expectations of the people who supported me. It is going to be a big responsibility and I am going to need all the help I get from the members on the ground up to go and make a good strong argument to deliver in agriculture,” he said.

Mr Gorman detected a change in the mood among farmers from being on the presidential hustings through 2023 and what are the big issues.

“There has almost been a complete turnaround from 2022 to 2023 in farmer sentiment. 2023 was a horrendous year weatherwise and we have seen commodity prices back, output back, and input prices (costs) up and staying stubbornly high…even the cost of money has gone up considerably,” he said. More below picture.

He says the perception and portrayal of farmers is a frustration for many. He shares this.

Mr Gorman believes a “small group who maybe have a greater voice than they are entitled to” in the media and are “running farmers and the production of food down”.

He believes the IFA has to take a stance in response to this.

“Farmers want to see an association that is standing up a lot more proudly for them,” he said.

Mr Gorman’s presidential campaign included a confrontation with the Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe at the National Ploughing Championships. At the heart of the argument was that farmers must be respected by the Government.

“I think that goes across all sectors of society. There is a disconnect between the political class that is running the country and the needs of people on the ground.

“Certainly, at the farm level, there is a feeling that this Government has not stood up for farmers and that they have basically sold farmers out to stay in power with the Greens and to support the Green agenda and to me, it is an anti-farming agenda,” he said.

He said there is no single big ‘sell-out’ issue but an amalgamation of many. He says all policy is about reducing stock numbers while regulations are pushing costs much higher.

He said this approach is being adopted across all areas of farming involving animal production and even tillage.

“The direction seems to be to try and reduce stock numbers by stealth by reducing the supports. If there are no supports, you don’t have the stock so you don’t have anything.

“If we keep less stock in this country, that stock will be replaced somewhere else with a higher carbon footprint which will do more damage to the planet,” he said.

He said farmers are being told to contract by the same policy makers who told them to expand.

“We have gone down a path directed by policy makers over the last 20 years and it’s only in the last short number of years that we have been told we are going in the wrong direction and we need to change.

“Science does not show that direction they are sending us down is going to deliver in the way policy makers expect. For me it shows that there is an anti-livestock agenda there with policy makers,” he said.

Mr Gorman says the environment is “unquestionably the big issue” for farmers adding that IFA members “are very frustrated” at how it is going to regulate their business. However, he admits that farmers could get isolated on the issue.

“Absolutely, and one of our responsibilities is to make sure that we are not marginalised and we continue to enjoy the support of the general public and we do that by continuing to produce quality food as sustainably as we can and point out examples of what we have done to make our businesses more sustainable,” he said.

Pictued: Minister Martin Heydon, President Francie Gorman, IFA, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Deputy President Alice Doyle, IFA, Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue. PIc:IFA

He pointed to the 250,000 kms of hedgerows planted by farmers in the last half century, plastic recycling, targeted spraying and medicines use as well as breeding practices as concrete examples of sustainable farming practices.

He accepted that the green challenge to farmers is not going away anytime soon and will be at the top of his agenda for his the next four years and beyond.

“What we have got to do is to show the positive of what we are doing in farming to reduce our carbon footprint and reduce emissions and get that communicated to the wider public,” he said. 

Farmers have never been shy of protesting in Ireland and elsewhere to protect their livelihoods. Indeed, Mr Gorman has been at the forefront of several protests over the years.

“You get frustration and anger at meetings around the country. When farmers elect a president of the IFA they expect him to take that on board and act on their behalf,” he said.

He said farmers are most angered when policies suddenly change and they are not given a chance to change. He instanced the nitrates directive issue as a case in point.

As to whether the Green agenda will bring more anger to the fore leading to a new take to the streets phase of protests, Mr Gorman won’t rule it out.

“There has been a feeling that we have not been proactive enough in coming forward with ideas. I believe that if you come forward with good ideas there will be a willingness in the Department of Agriculture or EU to take them on board. We have got to give that a chance first.

“But, if we are putting forward good ideas and policies and they are not being listened to and we are not being properly looked after to maintain incomes, you’ll take whatever action you have to take. If that involves protest, it involves protest,” he said.

He also warned Goverment that farmers have power at the ballot box.

“We have two elections in 2024 and a General Election in 2025 and the Government need to be mindful of the fact that if they don’t start supporting farmers in a meaningful way, it is going to cost them at the polls. We have that in our armour as well.

“There are many different ways of forcing the issue from protest to negotiation and everything in between,” he said.

Young farmers are those that are likely to be most impacted by environmental changes to farming. Mr Gorman has concerns about the future of farming and who is going to be on the land. More below picture.

Francie Gorman addresses the AGM. Pic: IFA

“The age profile of the IFA mirrors the profile of who is farming. Succession is going to be a huge problem in a lot of forms. The next generation has an interest in accessing the value of the farm in some shape or form but not a corresponding interest in coming home to farm,” he said. 

He said this a fundamental change in farming demographics is on the cards.

“If you look 20 years down the road there is a huge problem…The next generation is not interested in farming. They will access the value of the farm in some shape or form but they are not going to come home to farm,” he said.

He said developed countries like Ireland will not be able to turn to underdeveloped countries if the land of Ireland is not being used for food production.

“That penny hasn’t dropped with the Government. If you want to encourage the next generation to farm, the best way to do it is to support the current generation that is there,” he said.

He fears that small farms will disappear with the land instead being used for solar panels, forestry or to sequester carbon.

“The developed world should be producing food in the best countries for doing that and we have among the best climates in the world for producing food. We have a hugely sustainable system of food production here and we should be encouraged to farm that land as well as possible and produce as much food as possible,” he said.

The Ballinakill man acknowledges that within the farm community, it can sometimes be portrayed that farmers in some parts of the country to their counterparts in other parts of Ireland. However, his campaign experience has told Mr Gorman that this is not the case.

“In general, I have found from going around the country a lot more common ground than I would have thought beforehand. The issues that are of concern to farmers in Laois are of concern to farmers all over the country from Donegal to Kerry,” he said.

He believes unity is needed in the face of the green agenda and other issues. More below picture.

Francie Goram was supported by his family and Laois IFA members as he assumed office last week. Pic: IFA

“There is no question. As an industry, farm organisations are going to have to find common ground on the big issues of the day. If we don’t do that we will be divided and sell ourselves short,” he said.

Ultimately, he believes farmers must build upon the trust the public has in farmers.

“80 to 90% of the public trust farmers but trust and respect is easily lost but I think is still there to a large degree among the general public in farmers,” concluded the Ballinakil farmer