I hear there is a strong possibility that there could be more dairy and livestock farmers than there will be tillage farmers in the Food Vision tillage group which meets on Thursday, 11 May. Representatives with boots on the ground in the tillage sector may even be short.

The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association are said to have seats. Presumably, the IFA will send its tillage reps. With the average age of tillage farmers at 57, hopefully Macra can find a young tillage farmer.

There were no tillage representatives at the dairy group or the beef and sheep group and, from what I’m hearing, tillage people aren’t happy that the livestock farmers are on the group when the invite doesn’t go both ways.

Invites appear to be very scarce, with most groups understood to have just one seat at the table at the Department of Agriculture’s Campus in Backweston, Co Kildare and, while that can be a good thing, would it not make more sense to have tillage representatives in the room on their own for at least the first meeting?

This group won’t truly get to fix the problems if it hasn’t people with skin in the game talking it out.

Frustration is high and as grain prices reach crisis levels I hope the livestock reps take time to listen to the current situation and put tillage at the top of the agenda.