The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) could rue the day that that it forced the Irish government to vote against the Mercosur trade deal.

Getting that deal sorted expended a lot of political capital. And to what end? Brussels got its way; the required EU majority was delivered and the world of big business moved on.

Meanwhile, every twitching nerve fibre within both the hierarchy of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would have wanted to sign off on the deal from the get-go.

They see the bigger trade picture and, of course, would have also wanted to further portray Ireland’s image as a country that remains totally committed to the project that is the European Union.

In fact, Ireland’s EU Commissioner, Michael McGrath, has already expressed regret at the decision of the European Parliament to refer the Mercosur deal to the European Court of justice.

This move could hold-up the final and full ratification of the measure by up two years.

Mercosur in perspective

In truth, the Mercosur deal might have no impact on the Irish cattle industry. The volumes of beef imports involved are miniscule relative to the total tonnages produced in Europe on an annual basis.

At this juncture, it would be appropriate to introduce the’ hypocrisy’ word.

For years, Irish tillage farmers have highlighted the devastating impact that ‘cheap’ grains and oilseeds from South America are having on their businesses.

Furthermore, the vast bulk of these imports are being fed to Irish livestock.

The reality is that an entire industry has been put to the wall by decisions taken in Brussels without the need for a treaty in the first place.

Surely, this was the more deserving issue that should have had the IFA shouting from the rooftops to defend the interests of its ‘crop growing’ members, all those years ago.

But, alas, it would seem that the 'tillage horse’ has bolted - with beef, dairy, pig, poultry, and sheep farmers conveniently turning a blind eye to the matter.

UK-Mercosur

But Mercosur isn’t the only show in town at present. Of more concern to the IFA should be a potential trade deal between the UK and the South American economic group.

If this should ever come to pass, British supermarkets would jump at the opportunity to stock beef from Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil.

Such a scenario would deal a real blow to Irish beef prospects. And guess what: there would be nothing the farm organisation could do about it.

And what about the very genuine threat New Zealand and Australia pose to Ireland’s beef industry?

At least one British supermarket has been stocking beef from Australasia over recent weeks and, as the old saying goes... 'from small acorns mighty oaks grow'.

Meanwhile, the animosity created over of the Mercosur deal continues to gather momentum. But how does all this ‘scab picking’ suit long-term interests? Politicians have long memories.

The reality is that Mercosur is just a side show when one considers the real issues to be addressed in Brussels over the coming months; the upcoming reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) being objective number one in this context.

At a time when the IFA should really want to be winning friends and influencing enemies in Europe for the benefit of farmers overall, it seems hell-bent on doing the opposite.

Policy

Three decades and more ago, the IFA effectively controlled beef and sheep policy in Brussels.

This was achieved on the back of old school diplomacy while also sending many of Ireland’s brightest and best young people to hold down a selection of the top positions within the European Commission. Oh yes, those were the days.

For its part, the farm organisation now seems to think that megaphone diplomacy is the way forward. For the record, this is not a view shared by the real decision-makers in Brussels.

Bord Bia

And the momentum continues to build. The IFA is now mounting a ‘rolling protest’ outside the offices of Bord Bia in Dublin, seeking the removal the organisation’s chair, Larry Murrin.

And they say they are not leaving until they get what they want.

Obviously, IFA members feel they have a point to make and a right to do so on behalf of farmers. But boxing themselves into a corner with a ‘one-trick pony’ tactic, in my opinion, hardly seems to be the way of going about the job at hand.

Short of resigning of his own volition, I sense that Larry Murrin has the option of staying where he is. He already has the support of the board, the minister and many business stakeholders and nothing he did to support this Irish agri-business was incorrect or illegal.