Edwin Thompson, farmer

“My father before me was a great man for topping weeds. Another part of farm sustainability is reducing your chemical sprays and allowing a bit for nature.

“If there’s a clump of nettles, it doesn’t bother me any more like it used to. In some sense the paddocks look a bit more unkept and un-looked after maybe, but that’s part of sustainable farming, to leave some of your farm to nature.”

Seán Molloy, Tirlán CEO

“The Chinese have set a target between now and 2030 of growing their annual [dairy] consumption by 2.4% per year. Will they pay for sustainability? No. Will they want high quality product produced in a very clean environment? Yes.”

Oonagh Buckley, secretary general, Department of Environment

“Farmers are pragmatic business people. They’re probably the most efficient small business people we have in the country.”

Jim O’Toole, Bord Bia CEO

“Whilst there might be some that suggest that there is a cooling off amongst consumers towards sustainability, we can see that the evidence suggests the opposite, especially when it comes to nature management and restoration.”

Marie Donnelly, chair, Climate Change Advisory Council

“We’ve seen a lot of really interesting developments coming through research that has proven itself to be effective.

“Our challenge is, how do we go from, you know, the first 100 farmers doing that to this becoming the norm across all farms.”