Dylan Regan, Co Galway

“We are farming sucklers and sheep at home. I came up to the FTMTA show just to see what new machines are on the market, as I have an interest in it. There are some lovely machines on display, but it's all very expensive.

“I work with a contractor doing pit silage, tillage and slurry work for farmers. It’s very hard for contractors to get good and experienced drivers; we try to keep the breakdowns to a minimum if possible and do the services of machines during winter.

“Parts can be slow to get, but most companies have a great back-up service, depending on where they are based in relation to you. Some parts coming in from overseas, they can be slow to come in, but it depends on the size - smaller bits could be within a day or so.

“The young farmers are not given much of a chance. There are grants available, but there are other rules and regulations that are a challenge. Land is a big problem, it’s very hard to get, and trying to compete with dairy farmers is a struggle for younger farmers.”

Dylan Regan farms sucklers and sheep.

Conor McKiernan, Co Cavan

“At home, we keep sheep and I work in a machinery garage on Krone Machines, so we came down today to have a look and see what’s out there. Parts can be hard to get, but a lot of places are doing next-day deliver so it’s not too bad; but farmers are not getting enough for their produce, and so they are not going to be buying the expensive machinery.

“There is going to be far fewer young farmers coming into farming. When you go to the marts, how many young people are around the ring? I am renting ground at home and it’s beside me that I took it, but it’s very expensive to get land; you have to be working alongside the farming.

“The price of sheep is no good when you consider the costs of everything else. It’s not too bad now that fertiliser is back, but when the contractors’ rates are up and meal is dear, it’s hard when you’re only getting the tops of €7/kg for lambs. I don’t think there is any need for lambs to be imported into Ireland when we have enough to kill ourselves and meet the demands.”

Conor McKiernan, Co Cavan.

Jake Caldbeck, Co Kilkenny

“We are milking 200 cows, with tillage and contracting as well. We came up to FTMTA and I saw a nice Claas Trion combine, but the price is always a concern with machinery. If you can get the work to justify buying something like that, especially for the contracting, it will pay for itself over time.

“The nitrates derogation is going to be a problem for everyone - you will never have enough storage for slurry and washings, but trying to become more environmentally friendly is something all farmers are working on.

"A lot of dairy farmers are trying to rent ground around us so that they can offset their nitrates, but the price of land is chronic and it’s not feasible for a young farmer to try get into the industry.”

Jake Caldbeck is dairy and tillage farming in Co Kilkenny.

Chris Bourns, Co Galway

“Shiny metal syndrome is what lead us up to the show in Punchestown. I was interested in the merger for rowing up silage and keeping the quality in, but they are very expensive and I wouldn’t be able to justify buying.

“We are in our first year of dairy farming, but the nitrates is going to be difficult to manage for all dairy farmers across the country. We should be good for storage, as we doubled it recently when we moved to dairy.

"Farmers are resilient to all that is thrown at them, so we should be able to stay going.”

Chris Bourns, Co Galway.