Advancing innovation, sustainability and technical performance was the title of the latest Teagasc report launched. Essentially, it summarises the year gone by and is a great reference for what happened on farms. Its timely publication should force some rethinking. As Teagasc director Frank O’Mara said at the launch, “good technical performance underpins profitability and in turn this underpins sustainability, so how the industry is doing from a technical performance including research and development is critical to maintain our position in global agri”. Indeed, Minister Heydon had similar sentiments last week in his first interview with us.

The report crystalises the challenge. Lower cattle and sheep numbers for the last number of years and likely lower numbers again in 2025. Lower nitrogen and phosphorus usage and soil fertility slow to improve. Increased feed importation. A ‘weather effect’ increasing rather than decreasing age of cattle slaughter. Low lime usage. When you look at all these factors through a climate-only lens you can see progress summarised by a decreasing emissions profile – on average down 2.9% since 2018. However, take a more holistic view and you see a sector taking a backward step – you see the herd and flock cull that politicians refused to acknowledge play out. We rapidly need to see the business model for use of slurry or feed additives on Irish farms. We need science to show farmers how to get more nutrients from soil organic matter. We need to lessen conditionality on schemes. We need innovation, research and development in production that is market-led not EU-driven scheme farming. Without all this we can’t deliver the required climate or financial ‘sustainability’.