Strains have broken out between successive governments and the farm organisations in recent years - but in general the relationship between the two sides has been good.
We would appear to have moved a long way from the mid-1960s, when large numbers of farmers were sent to prison for civil disobedience when they took their protest over product prices to the streets. This caused a lot of bitterness and did much to widen the rift between urban and rural people, but was eventually resolved when the main farm organisations threw themselves into the task of helping the government negotiate a fair deal for entering the then EEC.
The farm organisations were to the forefront in that campaign for a Yes vote from the Irish public and farmers have benefited greatly from membership of the Union in 1973. Between 1973-2001 Ireland's agriculture and rural communities have received €32 billion in price supports, including direct payments, from the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Fund. There has been a further €2.6 billion for the agriculture and food industries from the Guidance Section of the European Agricultural Fund. Perhaps the best barometer of the success of this investment has been the growth in annual agri-food exports from €860 million in 1975 to €6.7 billion last year.
As Ireland again approaches another important decision-making date in our relationship with the Union, there has been a growing militancy in the ranks of the main farming organisation, the Irish Farmers' Association. Under its new leader, Mr John Dillon, there has been a return to the kind of street action which has not been seen since the IFA blockaded the meat plants in early 2000 in protest over product prices .
Grain imports at Drogheda and Kinsale have been interfered with and, in an earlier high profile action, pickets were placed on the offices of AIBP in Ardee. Sheep registers are being returned to the Department of Agriculture. These actions have as much to do with internal IFA politics as the undoubtedly difficult summer weather conditions which left many farmers with irrecoverable losses this autumn.
Last week the IFA met with the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh, who warned the organisation not to confuse the issues of harvest returns with the Nice Treaty. He reminded them of the benefits they had received from membership. Whether or not that message was taken on board will only be known when the referendum votes are counted.