Ploughing chiefs should honour any unused tickets at next year’s event

IN HINDSIGHT, there was an inevitability to it all; in a year that the weather drove farming ‘quare’, it would surely also stick its oar into farming’s biggest annual event, the Ploughing.

While there was nothing that the NPA could have done about the wind on the second day-that-wasn’t and the financial losses to exhibitors, there is a view that events could have been handled better. In hindsight.

In the run-up to the event, the organisers were being feted as heroes; they have not suddenly become zeroes.

However, I would like to see is the NPA honour unused admission tickets at next year’s event. It might cost a few quid but would go a long way to heal bruised spirits and restore goodwill.

Whatever about viewing farming events of 2018 with hindsight, a little bit of insight would be welcome this year too.

The beef sector, for one, is entering uncertain territory.

To give one example of many that could be offered: Always, at this time of the year, the road that passes our gate is busy with lorry-loads of straw heading westwards from the south-east. In the past few weeks, however, all we have been seeing is bales of silage going in the opposite direction.

Thirteen years ago, EU reform of the Common Agricultural Policy led to the decoupling of subsidies from farm production.

At the time, things didn’t change dramatically for the vast majority of people. Instead, their Single Farm Payment went into the general farm income pot, and they continued on pretty much as before. A lot has changed since. Many farms have new faces, with different outlooks and priorities.

Add to these changes the impact of Brexit on the beef sector. And then there’s the uncertainty surrounding the national stance on the future of the suckler cow (a subject I’ll return to another time).

Now, heading into the winter, the decision facing those who traditionally finish cattle is more stark than ever before: do I sell feed/bedding or buy cattle?

Farmers may be reluctant to change their traditional operations but now the economics look tempting.

On the one hand is a bale of straw or silage that could be sold at, say €35-40; on the other is the prospect of buying cattle, the work and cost of keeping them for the winter and then selling them into an uncertain market.

What is the right thing to do? To quote the 19th century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, “life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward”.

Which brings me back to the Ploughing, where I spent an enjoyable and informative Tuesday, even if I did lose out the following day.

‘Living forwards’, for us, means embracing renewable energies, and the Ploughing certainly had a lot of options for those considering solar panels.

I knew there is a grant of up to €3,800 available for their installation but here I learned that they don’t have to be put on the dwelling house; they can go on a nearby shed.

We got our roof done a few years ago and don’t want to be cutting any holes in it, no matter how well they might be sealed up afterwards.

At the Busy Botanist stall, the Kerry firm was selling caffeine-free herbal teas for everyday complaints. They were launched at the Ploughing last year, and co-founder

Jo told me “our feet haven’t touched the ground since”.

Meanwhile, Himself has been at me about keeping bees, so I finally signed up to do a course. It is to take place in January/ February and, all going to plan, we’ll be looking at getting a hive or two next summer.

But whether its hindsight, insight or seeing what’s in plain sight, the events of 2018 have shown us that no matter what plans you make, you can’t say with certainty which way the wind will blow you. Roll on Ploughing 2019.

IT WOULD GO A LONG WAY TO HEAL BRUISED SPIRITS AND RESTORE GOODWILL