DEAR EDITOR

I never thought I’d see the day when a spring lamb was worth almost as much as a tonne of barley, but here we are.

I don’t begrudge it to the sheep farmer at all, he/she deserves every cent of it. It is the tillage farmer here who is the big loser. The problem is governments all over the western world are reducing animal numbers to achieve climate targets and farmers are turning to cereal production on the extra acreage.

China’s cancellation of cereal imports from the United States of America in retaliation for tariff increases hasn’t helped either.

I also suspect that Diageo is taking advantage of the situation by reducing the price of malt paid to Boortmalt, as they have done in the past, while increasing the price of a pint to consumers. Happy days at Diageo.

They have never shown much interest in the sustainability of malting barley in Ireland.

Malting barley growers are facing reduced contracts and an equally seriously reduced price in 2025.

There is a strong case that has to be put to both Brussels and Dublin that special support is needed as it is, by and large, the climate policies from both these places that are the root cause of our demise.

Climate change will likely bring about even better conditions for grass growth in Ireland.

If a tillage industry is to survive here, it is going to need serious long-term support.

Spring lamb is very nice, but man or woman cannot live on lamb alone.