Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I could not agree more. I have said previously in the House that I see agriculture as a gearbox within which all the different enterprises, including tillage, dairy, beef, sheep and pigs, are interlinked and interdependent. Should one sector of that gearbox stop working, it impacts on everything else. Tillage is a key component of that. The sector has been through a tough time. To be a tillage farmer involves a massive outlay on machinery costs. There are big overheads and margins have been extremely tight.

We want to continue working with the sector to support it and grow the value-added opportunities in this space. The Deputy mentioned the nearly carbon-zero nature of tillage farming. The sector has a great story to tell in terms of its carbon footprint, its positive role in regard to cover crops and the role it plays in helping us reach our climate targets. We will continue to support the tillage sector throughout this term.

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