Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Martin Heydon maintains that Fine Gael will poll strongly among farmers in future national, local and European Parliament elections, despite indications of high support levels in rural areas for a new farmers' party.“Fine Gael has a strong track record in rural Ireland among farmers and rural dwellers and I am very confident that will be reiterated in the upcoming local [elections] and European [election] next year and a general election thereafter as well,” Minister Heydon told the Irish Farmers Journal at the Tullamore Show on Sunday.