As people across the country head out to do their Christmas shopping this year it is important to remind them to support Irish farmers. In this article, we’ll focus on the tillage related products, but obviously we want people to purchase Irish meat and dairy as well.

The first thing is Christmas dinner. Irish potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, leeks, celery, beetroot and much more are all available. From mushrooms to lettuce, apples to even strawberries growing under lights – there is no excuse not to have all your fruit and vegetables for Christmas dinner from Irish farmers.

For your breakfast, you can make a New Year’s resolution to have a carbon neutral breakfast with porridge or overnight oats.

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When it comes to snacks, make sure you have a bag of Tayto, Keoghs Crisps, O’Donnell’s or another brand using Irish potatoes and supporting Irish jobs.

If you’re putting whiskey on your Christmas cake, choose Irish. Many Irish whiskey distilleries ceased production this year, while others closed down. This saw businesses which had made huge investment and which were buying Irish grain, close down.

Look carefully at the bottles to see where the grain is coming from. If they’re using Irish grain proudly, they’ll tell you on the bottle.

You might put stout in your Christmas pudding and there are plenty of Irish ones to choose from. The most famous among them is Guinness, whose parent company Diageo, are buying Irish grain and are almost finished building their new plant in Newbridge with plans for a second.

Irish for the animals

We can’t write an article on Irish grain without mentioning livestock feed and straw. 2025 has been a difficult year for tillage farmers. Some merchants and co-ops are offering Irish rations or majority Irish rations. Use them where possible and it goes without saying that all straw used in Ireland should be Irish.