THE IFA president, Mr Tom Parlon, accepted that the outcome in the negotiations was less damaging than the original proposals would have been to Irish agriculture.
The beef industry should now be able to move forward, he said, and there was a major challenge for Irish processors to establish profitable European markets.
He predicted there would be a substantial loss of £1 million for cereal growers and this was one area where the negotiations had not gone well. But growers had avoided degressivity and capping of payments, and the maize base area had been ring-fenced and would provide security for them.
Mr Parlon conceded that a lot of good work had been done in "damage limitation". The ICMSA president, Mr Frank Allen, said that while the deal was not a good one for Ireland, the Minister for Agriculture had achieved improvements on what had been proposed.
Farmers in the dairy area stood to lose 6p per gallon of milk because of the deal and no one should attempt to put a spin on the deal or disguise the potential loss of income to Irish farmers.
The director-general of ICOS, the umbrella body for Irish coops, described the deal as "a major improvement on the original proposals". He complimented the Minister and his team on removing the uncertainty which faced Irish agriculture.
The North's Agriculture Minister, Lord Dubbs, has given a broad welcome to the farm deal. He said the agreement would give "positive gains" to the producers of milk in the North. He added that the beef industry had done "pretty well" overall.
The President of the Ulster Farmers' Union Mr Will Taylor, said that some of the main priorities for Northern farmers had been secured in the deal. "We have a special milk quota deal, support for our grass-based livestock industry and a significant increase in the beef special premium."
He added that a reasonable compromise had been achieved that left the North's agricultural industry with some hope for future success.