The announcement by British prime minister Teresa May that she will trigger Article 50 in the first quarter of next year is the last but one step in the UK withdrawing from the EU. It is expected withdrawal will follow within two years, though this can be extended if the remaining EU members all agree to do so. It now requires an act of parliament, which will be the final UK step prior to notification. This should not be an issue, as the prime minister has a comfortable majority in parliament. However, it is no secret the Conservative party is deeply divided between leavers and stayers, so the possibility of a party revolt cannot be ruled out completely.Assuming it goes ahead as planned, it will have once in a lifetime implications for Irish farmers both sides of the border. Currently farmers in Northern Ireland and Britain are experiencing a currency-driven windfall. Commodity prices have increased on the back of weaker sterling, while the CAP payments will be delivered this year on an exchange rate of 85p=€1 compared with 73p=€1 last year.