Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue

It means I get to meet people out in the fresh air.

As Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the National Ploughing Championships provide me with a unique opportunity to engage with farmers, agricultural professionals and the public.

Each September, the Ploughing showcases our agricultural history and heritage, and pays testament to the enduring strength, resilience and adaptability of our rural communities.

While tradition plays its part, the sector has always been innovative and the evidence of this grows every year, with the major advancements in technology, sustainability and best practice – that makes Ireland a leader in food production – on show, for all to see.

In this bringing together of stakeholders, from farmers and agri-businesses, to researchers, Government, students and consumers, the Ploughing fosters the collaboration I have always seen as vital for the sector.

The event highlights the positive environmental, social and governance role agriculture plays in Ireland’s economy and society. Moreover, the media attention that the Ploughing allows positive messages about agriculture and food production to be communicated to a wider audience than at any other time of the year.

For me, the National Ploughing Championships serve as a reminder of the importance of supporting and sustaining our rural communities.

While it is good to reflect on the progress we’ve made, it is also a chance to recommit to a drive toward the future of Irish agriculture.

I see this future as continued growth in our food production capability and ever-increasing sustainability, returning value to the sector through our global markets. Vital to this ambition of course, are young people working and living in rural Ireland.

I recently announced that I am setting up a commission on generational renewal to take a deep dive into this issue. I will be using Ploughing 2024 to listen to the next generation on the areas they want to see this commission address.

Hearing firsthand the concerns, aspirations and ideas of those at the forefront of our agricultural industry will be invaluable to me, in both making the commission a success and ensuring the needs of our farming sector and our rural areas are met into the future.

Minister of State, Pippa Hackett

For me the Ploughing means the 8am breakfast roll on arrival to beat the rush, it means getting lost amid the maze of tents and stalls, it means making new friends and catching up with old ones, it means one of the happiest traffic jams you’ll ever sit in, it means the midlands of Ireland, it means Anna May McHugh, Michael D Higgins and politicians from Dublin in brand new wellies getting stuck in the mud.

The Ploughing means community, it means fun, laughter, rain, sunshine and it means celebrating the very best of Irish agriculture and rural life in Ireland.

The Ploughing is the farming community’s All-Ireland final, our annual pilgrimage, the event where we celebrate tradition, progress and innovation all coming together.

I think that marriage of tradition, progress and innovation really reflects the type of farming ethos we try to live every day on our home farm.

And for me, this sense of tradition, progress and innovation, as well as strong community spirit, is alive and well all across the entire site – but in particular in the organic village.

So my big tip for anyone attending over the three days, no matter what type of farmer you are or whether you’re a farmer at all, is to make sure to get over to the organic village to have a good wander around: taste some samples, chat to advisers, reps and farmers and soak up the positive energy that I know well will be there in abundance, come rain, hail or shine.

Minister of State, Martin Heydon

Coming from a tillage heartland in south Kildare, some of my earliest memories growing up are making the short journey to Oak Park in Carlow to watch Ploughing matches take place.

It’s a testament to the stewardship of Anna May and Anna Marie McHugh and the thousands of committee members and volunteers over the years that the Ploughing has continued to thrive as a centrepiece of the agricultural calendar.

In more recent times, I’ve seen what it means to a local community to host the National Ploughing Championships, when the late Willie Fennin opened his fields for the event in Athy on a number of occasions.

He, and so many others from the area, had a true grá for the tillage sector and it brought the locality such pride.

Every year I look forward to Ploughing. It is an opportunity for everyone to gather, to reflect on the summer just gone and to look ahead to the autumn to come.

No matter what the weather brings, rural Ireland always puts on an excellent show.

In my present role as Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture, the event has taken on a new significance, as it marks the return of the Dáil for another term, with the budget just around the corner.

It’s a chance to hear directly from farmers, agri-businesses and the wider public, to thrash out the challenges and opportunities facing the sector and to highlight the importance of farm safety.

I’ll be packing the wellies and look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.