Seldom have we seen the relationship between meat factories and farmers at such a low level. Yes, there have been price disputes in the past and heated exchanges across a range of issues, but no matter how fractious relationships became, personal differences were set aside and a platform for constructive discussions was always maintained.

This time it is different: attacks are personal and appetite to engage constructively is not there.

The most recent example is the response from ABP Food Group to the IFA protest at the Aldi distribution centre last Thursday. Within hours of the protest starting, ABP issued a highly personal and scathing attack on IFA president Joe Healy.

An unnamed spokesperson called the IFA’s actions a stunt “motivated by competition for membership between traditional and new farm organisations”. They described the actions of Healy as “needless and reckless” on the basis that the IFA was aware a price increase had been indicated at the recent taskforce meeting – albeit that after the taskforce meeting, Meat Industry Ireland (MII) talked of green shoots in the market with no commitment to a price increase.

There is no doubt that the tone of the ABP press release was deliberate and the words were chosen carefully. It was designed to discredit and create further division – not only between farmers and meat processors but across the various farm organisations.

Some might argue that ABP has form in this regard. Was it a coincidence that the injunctions against two protestors were dropped by C&D Foods (part of ABP) the day after a recently formed group took to the streets of Dublin demanding action on the issue? Or was it a calculated decision, aimed at giving yet another splinter group a perceived victory? And in doing so, further fragmenting farmers’ voices and lobbying power?

In the context of this discussion it is worth highlighting that ABP was the only meat processor to move to an opt-in levy collection system for farm organisations in mid-2016, rather than an opt-out.

The move by the Beef Plan Movement to describe the IFA protest as regrettable clearly played into the hands of factories

Again, was this a calculated move by the meat processor who knew it would put further pressure on IFA finances? While presented as a move towards increased transparency, we have yet to see ABP adopt an opt-in approach to the deduction of the insurance levy, which it retains.

Against this backdrop, farmers should ask whether or not the fragmentation of farm organisations suits the factory agenda. Does farmer fighting with farmer on the national airwaves, as witnessed last week, provide a distraction from the real issue?

In this regard, the move by the Beef Plan Movement to describe the IFA protest, which was not interfering with farmers selling animals, as regrettable clearly played into the hands of factories looking to discredit the cause of farmers.

Leaving aside the legitimacy of the IFA protest, to publicly support a retailer over farmers trying to fight for higher market prices was ill-judged, leaving the Beef Plan Movement exposed to claims of being more interested in point-scoring than delivering for farmers.

Questions also have to be asked about the decision by the Beef Plan Movement to write to UK retailers questioning the grass-fed image of Irish beef. As Caitriona Morrissey reports, the letter, which points to Bord Bia “misleading” supermarket chains and the public, makes reference to the “force-feeding” of animals with grains and cereals.

As Matt Dempsey reports, such a claim totally ignores research showing that the vast majority of Irish beef is produced from systems where 85-95% of total feed intake is grass-based.

It is difficult to see how any organisation that attempts to undermine Ireland’s grass-fed message can claim to be representing the interests of Irish farmers. If the agenda of the Beef Plan Movement is to get the 30-month age limit scrapped, it should not be delivered by undermining the integrity of the production models on which the vast majority of farmers rely. Hopefully the promise of elections in early 2020 will see the Beef Plan Movement develop a clearer and more responsible strategy.

In the meantime, it is time for all farm organisations and groups to put political agendas aside. The reality is that despite the marginal increase returned by ABP and other processors at the start of the week, the price returned by Irish factories continues to lag the market by 15-20c/kg. Farmers have a better chance of securing this if they stand together rather than allowing others divide them.

European Commission: Green Deal puts more pressure on farmers

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

The contribution expected from agriculture in delivery of the new European Commission’s Green Deal strategy will be huge. For farmers, it will quite simply add cost with no evidence that it will deliver anything in the marketplace.

The agriculture element will be set out in a “farm to fork” strategy that will be developed by spring 2020 and will be part of the health and food safety portfolio in Brussels rather than agriculture, which reflects a worrying downgrading of that portfolio in the Commission.

Inevitably, farmers will be called on to deliver reductions in the use of pesticides, fertiliser and antibiotics as the EU aspires to become the world standard for sustainability, as Commissioner Stella Kyriakides told the EU market outlook conference in Brussels this week.

This is a noble ambition but Irish and EU farmers simply cannot afford to deliver it as they are forced to go head-to-head with produce with full access to pesticides and fertilisers in the marketplace. A sufficiently funded CAP would help address the financial cost of leading the world in sustainability but the bar is set low by the incoming agriculture commissioner in his commitment to contain the budget to the 5% cut proposed by the last Commission.

The EU cannot have it both ways when it comes to farmers. In the past, when they banned hormones in cattle, the EU had a fully funded CAP and very limited access to the EU market for global exporters. Now the market is wide open and the value of CAP is diminished.

Huge battles need to be fought in Brussels by the farm organisations to ensure neither the cost burden nor any productivity loss associated with a Green Deal ends up being carried by EU farmers.

Environment: playing the water blame game

The latest report and commentary from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) saw farmers once again being blamed across the airwaves as the primary reason for reducing levels of pristine water quality in Ireland.

Let’s be clear: the very dry 2018 no doubt affected water quality characteristics. To call out these 2018 annual results in a five-year review document seems unjustified.

Blaming farmers or indeed dairy farmers again is not the solution as we see quality results from non-dairy farming areas also decline. The inability to distinguish and qualify the impact of poor waste water treatment facilities and population growth must also be called into question.

No deterioration in water quality is acceptable to the farming community and must be called out, but publicly blaming one sector compared to another will do little to gain respect from those trying to work together for the greater good.

Politics: all eyes on UK as Brexit takes centre stage in general election

UK prime minister Boris Johnson is expected to win a majority in Thursday's general election.

All eyes are on the UK today (Thursday) as the electorate go to the polls. Despite losing ground in recent weeks, the expectation is that the Conservatives will secure a parliamentary majority – clearing the way for Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal.

Attention then moves towards agreeing the future trading relationship. With a much more pro-Brexit influence likely within the Tories, pressure to leave the bloc will be intense with or without a future trading deal.

The alternative, a minority-led Labour government, would deliver a bumpier pathway in the short term. The shock would lead to short-term volatility, particularly in currency, and prolong the uncertainty. However, the promise of a second referendum could potentially see the UK remain part of the EU, which of course is the ideal from an Irish perspective.

Really the only certainty is that regardless of the outcome, Brexit will continue to dominate the political agenda in 2020.