Cillian Hartford, tillage and vegetable farmer, Co Dublin

“Our winter barley is coming in a little early with the nice sunshine we’ve had over the last week or two, but overall, it’s looking good. No lodging or nothing so we’re looking well for harvest coming up in the next two weeks.

“I’m from north county Dublin, pretty much everyone is in tillage but I’d nearly say there needs to be more vegetable farmers in Ireland. There needs to be more support for them.”

Tillage Farmer Views at Crops and Technology Event. / Dylan Lowry

John Costello, suckler farmer, Co Wexford

“I’m just here to look at tillage, to see what we can do and go back to the old way of everyone producing a bit of crops on their farm; mixed farming. I’m not saying regressing altogether back to the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s but we should be able to have our own bread using wheat, rye, milling wheat; be a little bit more self-sufficient and less reliant on imports.

“Tillage has been on the back foot for a while especially with the costs of inputs going up and the price they are getting for the grain, it’s getting reduced.”

Tillage Farmer Views at Crops and Technology Event. / Dylan Lowry

Jack Lynch, tillage farmer, Co Laois

“The protein payment would be the biggest [support] but it would be no harm for a few more. Keeping straw on the ground, that would keep the price of straw down for smaller farmers and suckler farmers trying to buy straw because it’s making ridiculous money in bales at the minute.

“It would be great to see [more tillage land] but the price isn’t there to do it. Going around and giving €500 or €600 for an acre of land; you’d want your head examined.”