Goodbye to 2023

We bid farewell to 2023, and I am not a bit sorry to see the back of it. What a challenging year it has been for farming between input costs, regulations, extreme weather, and price fluctuations across all sectors of our industry. But we are resilient and now is the time to plan and refocus for 2024!
I recently returned from Hannover in Germany where I was attending the Agritechnica show with a group of 20 farmers and associates from the machinery sector. Irish Farmers Monthly is a member of Tractor of the Year (TOTY) judging panel and I particularly enjoyed participating in the TOTY jury deliberations to choose this year’s overall winner, the Claas Xerion 12.650 Terra Trac. Powered by a Mercedes-Benz OM473 engine, delivering 653hp, it is the most powerful continuously variable transmission tractor in the world.
My experience of walking through Hannover at night was safer and more welcoming than recent visits to Dublin’s O’Connell Street, with low police presence and little evidence of the drug and social problems of our own capital city. I know many of my neighbours and friends will opt to shop locally this Christmas rather than visit Dublin in the present circumstances. My heart goes out to the people of Dublin who have to deal with thuggery on a daily basis.
Back to Agritechnica. After a four-year absence, Europe’s biggest machinery event finally returned. With almost 3,000 exhibitors from 52 countries spread over 24 halls, most of them the size of football pitches, Agritechnica ran from November 12-18. Four hundred and seventy thousand visitors from across the world viewed every conceivable machine and technology in use on farms, globally. There were 15 Irish farm-machinery manufacturer exhibits in attendance, showing the latest on offer from the Irish market. Large machines and labour replacement were the eye-openers at this event, with scale, alternative fuel, and automation now the apparent priorities for world farming.
On the home front, the €8m tillage payment scheme is being supplemented to provide support for tillage farmers who could not harvest parts of their crops. That’s a positive outcome from the strong lobbying carried out by the sector. The new quad-safety rules are now in place with quad-bike training taking place nationwide. It is a necessary imposition to make the machines safer and reduce accidents and deaths on our farms. Rollbars or similar may yet add a further safety feature. On the machinery front, Meath Farm Machinery has now expanded its operations into Louth and Dublin. I will have more on this and on the TOTY winners, and what’s new in the tractor world, in our bumper Tractor Guide in our January 2024 issue.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas. Stay safe and well as we hope for an improved 2024 on every front. Farm wisely and farm safely.