On this week’s programme, Declan Marren brings you the latest from Irish agriculture, with the National Ploughing Championships, the outlook for food and agribusiness and some of the practical questions facing farmers this autumn.
Darren Carty, Sheep and Schemes Editor with the Irish Farmers Journal, joins us from the National Ploughing Championships. We discuss what farmers have actually been saying on the Journal stand over the last two days, beyond some of the more negative farmer-survey headlines published this week. We also look at the first increase in Ireland’s suckler cow population in more than a decade, with particularly strong growth recorded across traditional suckler counties in the west, as well as the outlook for the sheep sector, farm schemes and developments around live cattle exports.
David Leydon, Group Head of Growth and Agrifood Consulting with ifac, talks us through the findings of ifac’s 2026 Food and Agribusiness Report. While 79% of businesses intend to grow over the next year, 91% have experienced higher costs — the highest figure recorded across the nine editions of the report. We discuss squeezed margins, employment costs, AI, succession and what the findings mean for farm and rural businesses across the west of Ireland.
In our Teagasc slot, we look at completing the Green Cert, the different options available to farmers.
Farming Matters with Declan Marren — the news, views and voices from field and farm across the region. Sponsored by Corrib Oil - Keeping your farm moving.
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