DEAR EDITOR: I was delighted to see you report the facts on tillage last week. I read the detail with despair.

Seeing it in writing brings home the significance of the €7,500 average loss to a tillage farm, which will lose €7,500 due to bad weather. Then I read on to find Teagasc showing better value from the use of imported maize and soya in sheep feed.

In the same way tillage farmers are losing money, so are the sheep farmers. I appreciate they need to cut costs too.

The previous week, the Irish Farmers Journal had reported carbon figures for Irish grain versus maize from Teagasc, and there was a huge positive difference in favour of Irish grain.

However, there seems to be no group standing up for tillage farmers as far as I can see – no group shouting about these carbon figures. Why is no one promoting Irish grain?

Your paper has rightly highlighted the carbon figures, the problems with failed crops and the three crop rule.

The Irish Farmers Journal is highlighting our plight, but I do not see Government or farmer organisations doing anything to stop the loss of tillage land or to replace lost income for tillage farmers for the financial losses incurred.

The minister talks about increasing tillage area; there won’t be a tillage area, as convergence and cost of production are going to wipe it out.