OVERNIGHT RAIN which made for difficult underfoot conditions did not deter a huge crowd of 74,000 from attending the second day yesterday of the National Ploughing Championships in Athy.
By mid afternoon the site had dried out and patrons basked in the sunshine enjoying the myriad events which make up this unique Irish occasion.
Farmers attending the festival received confirmation from an early visitor, Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith, that they will receive early payment of their single farm payment from Brussels on October 18th.
The payment, totalling €600 million, was not due to be paid until December 1st, but Mr Smyth successfully argued that it should be paid early because of the poor weather conditions encountered by Irish farmers late last year and early this year.
The payment is part of the overall direct aid from Brussels to Irish farmers which is worth €1.5 billion. Mr Smith said this money would go into the Irish economy and help everyone.
Speaking at a press conference he said he was happy the new EU agriculture commissioner, Dacien Ciolos, had been selling the message in Europe that the Common Agricultural Policy (Cap) benefits all Europeans, not just farmers.
“It delivers food security and safe, clean food but also is important for the environment and in relation to animal welfare,” he said.
He said the citizens of Europe also benefited from the public goods created by farming activities and although the Cap accounted for over 40 per cent of the EU budget, it was worth it.
Mr Smith outlined his programme on the run-up to the reform of the Cap and how he intended to protect Irish interests and the amount of money which would be coming into the country through the policy.
Responding to a suggestion that it would be difficult in an enlarged EU for Ireland to hold what it has, he said this was his aim and he had arranged a series of bilateral meetings with his European counterparts to lobby for a strong, well-funded Cap.
He conceded that some member states did not like the method on which single farm payment was calculated and wanted that changed, but said nothing had been decided on that issue and he would fight for the continuation of the current scheme.
He also announced he had approved almost 6,000 applicants under the new Agri-Environment Options Scheme which will replace the old Rural Environment Protection Scheme.
The number of applicants, he said, showed the scheme was attractive and accessible to farmers with its focus on biodiversity, water quality and climate change and it would deliver significant environmental benefits over the coming years.
There was good news too from another Minister who also attended the festival yesterday. Minister for Community Affairs Pat Carey said €5 million in Leader rural development grants had been sanctioned in the last week.
He said €425 million had been made available in EU funding for the period 2009 and 2013 and the take-up from groups was increasing as the year progressed.
He hoped to draw down €40 million in funding next year and he hoped the creativity and energy he had seen in the rural development programmes would increase and intensify so jobs would be created.
Mr Carey was speaking at the official launch of the publication “Leader Partnerships Making a Difference in the South West Region”.
The championships continue today.