Northern Ireland’s Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir wanted to clarify a few things at Balmoral Show last week.

His appointment to the role in February 2024 raised a few eyebrows at the time, given that he has no farming experience and was previously a member of environmental group Friends of the Earth.

Since then, the Alliance Party politician has been saying all the right things to appease farmers, although what he does will ultimately be more important than what he says.

“Two things kept being said to me when I arrived here today,” Minister Muir said at an event on the Ulster Farmers’ Union stand.

“Firstly, I was told: ‘I believe this is your first Balmoral Show.’ That is incorrect. It is my third time here at the show. The second thing said was ‘I believe you’re a vegan’. That’s not true either,” he confirmed.