There has been no shortage of talking points in agricultural affairs recently, with topics such as the Bord Bia controversy, new cases of bluetongue and the never-ending rain still fresh in the minds of many farmers.

Agriland caught up with some farmers at Delvin Mart to hear about their opinions on these pressing matters.

It has nearly been a month since farmers began protesting at the HQ of Bord Bia over Larry Murrin's position as chair after it was confirmed that his company, Dawn Farm Foods, sources some beef from Brazil.

The issue has stirred strong feelings among many in attendance who spoke to Agriland, with one farmer describing the situation as one of "double standards".

He said: "Bord Bia puts farmers through awful trouble getting quality assured.

"Any little thing wrong, you are docked and you have to go back.

The farmer was clear in his view of the chairman's position, noting that Murrin "should step down, definitely."

However not everyone in attendance shared the same frustration.

One farmer noted that he was weary over the ongoing protest and warned that the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) may have "backed themselves into a corner" that they cannot get out of.

He questioned whether this protest is in line with the overall purpose of the IFA, which in his eyes, is to "protect farmers' income."

He added that he only sees this situation ending in the event of the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin further intervening.

Another farmer told Agriland that he thought the situation was a "heap of nonsense" and he was unsure why the IFA had made such an issue out of it in the first place.

He commented: "It does not make any sense to me why they are making such a fuss about it.

He also pointed to what some farmers see as an inconsistency in the wider debate with regard to Irish farms using Brazilian grain to feed cattle.

"You look at all the beef farmers that are protesting; they are busy importing Brazilian corn.

"So it is [a bit like] speaking out of both sides of their mouth," the farmer commented.

Calendar farming

Moving away from the agri-politics, the weather so far this year has been a dominant factor on farms across the country.

2026 has been one of the wettest starts to a year in recent memory, but for some farmers in attendance who operate traditional winter farming systems, the impact has been manageable.

One farmer said: "Most farms, [the rain] doesn't affect them that much; they have all the cattle and stock in from mid-November until the 17th or 18th of April."

The conversation around the mart soon turned to calendar farming, which refers to restrictions in the dates which farmers can spread the likes of chemical fertilisers and slurry under the Good Agricultural Practice Regulation.

While farmers are legally permitted to spread slurry and chemical fertiliser at this time of the year, the saturated ground conditions are telling a different story.

"[Calendar farming] should be changed a little bit," a farmer suggested. "October and November are usually good."

"If you could get the tanks down in November, you are grand until the middle of April or you could put out slurry for silage."

Another farmer, however, felt there was merit in sticking with the current system.

He said: "I think there is still sense in calendar farming.

"So it might make less tracks in the field, but it still makes sense to keep your nutrient values until you can use them."

Bluetongue

Meanwhile, many farmers would have heard about more cases of bluetongue being confirmed recently, with infected herds now in Louth and Wicklow, alongside Wexford.

While many farmers in attendance recognised bluetongue as a concern, there is still much uncertainty for them about how the disease could truly impact trade and animal health.

One sheep farmer told Agriland that he thinks there has been a lot of "fear mongering" surrounding bluetongue and he highlighted that infected livestock can still be sent to abattoirs as the disease has no impact on human consumption.