The National Ploughing Championships, at present taking place at Castletownroche, in Co. Cork, is the chief social event of the Irish farming calendar. Farming families make an occasion of the three-day festival and they ignore the weather which, in recent years, has tended to be damp if not downright watery. A little rain has never stopped Irish people from enjoying themselves, least of all those who make a living from the land. And the miles of steel walkways laid down by the organisers around the trade areas, farm exhibitions, amusements and refreshment stands are designed to keep the mud at a level that wellingtons can comfortably handle. Dozens of ploughing competitions involving horses and vintage ploughs, as well as the most modern machinery, are the kernel of the occasion. It costs about £1m to stage, attracts an estimated 150,000 visitors and is regarded as the largest outdoor farming event in Europe.
After a good summer, the confidence of the farming community has been bolstered by recovering agricultural prices and the long-term arrangements made in Brussels under Agenda 2000. There are still many problems to be surmounted, in terms of restructuring, a falling farm population and up-coming negotiations with the World Trade Organisation. However, it is a far cry from last year when a bad summer, a serious fodder shortage and the collapse of cattle prices caused the ICMSA president, Mr Frank Allen, to declare that farmers might be better off shooting their animals. The change in mood will be reflected by the millions of pounds worth of farm machinery on display, along with scores of stands selling everything from a video to a Volvo on the 500-acre site.
The ploughing championships provide a showcase for a changing industry. The agri-food sector now accounts for 13 per cent of GDP - more than double the EU average. Eurostat figures show that agriculture is more important to Ireland than to thirteen other EU States. In all, farming and agri-business account for 12 per cent of total employment and provide the economic bedrock of rural communities. But a two-tier structure is rapidly emerging involving full-time, commercial farmers and a large and growing number of part-time farmers. Regional development policies are being devised to cater for part-time farming in disadvantaged areas and a seven-year allocation of £1,740m has already been agreed with the European Commission under the FEOGA Guarantee Fund. Early retirement schemes, headage payments, REPS and forestry will be funded from the allocation. In addition, the Coalition Government is committed to increased investment in services and infrastructure under the forthcoming national development plan in a move to develop the economic potential of rural Ireland and to address the problems of poverty and social exclusion.
These policies and promises will, no doubt, come under intense scrutiny as senior politicians meet with farm leaders on the fringes of the various official events. The great bulk of visitors are likely to shelve such concerns during the three-day festival, however, and concentrate on enjoying themselves at the various demonstrations and entertainments.