We finished the radio programme last Saturday talking about the weather. We had two farmers from Galway on bracing themselves for the worst as storm Jorge approached. You could hear the exasperation in their voices.

But what struck me most was how in both instances, their chief concern was not for themselves but for their farm animals and vulnerable neighbours.

I remarked how terrible it is that people find it so easy to talk down to farmers on a variety of issues and yet here were examples of typical farmer selflessness.

Her house is definitely furthest of all TD’s from Kildare Street

Earlier last week, I made the long journey to Skibbereen to meet Cork’s only female TD, Holly Cairns of the Social Democrats. Her house is definitely furthest of all TD’s from Kildare Street. Holly grew up on a small holding where she still resides.

Holly has a profound love of farming and the environment. And she made a terrific point when chatting about both subjects and how they tend to collide in public discourse rather than combine. She said that while some people point the finger at farmers for the destruction of the environment, this is not because of personal failure but policy failure.

There is a dangerous communication vacuum between agriculture and society

This is the crucial point which is constantly being missed in the debate about agriculture and climate change. Anti-farmer environmentalists (many probably have never set foot on a farm) who are quick on Twitter to shame farmers for biodiversity breakdown simply have no grasp of how the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) works.

There is a dangerous communication vacuum between agriculture and society which is being filled with misinformation and anti-farming sentiment that does nothing for the viability of food production or the environment. Holly gave a good example of that policy failure which has landed farmers in the situation where they are taking one for the team on climate change.

EU policy looked unfavourably on bushes growing wild

She explained how their single farm payment was cut a few years ago because they allowed bushes encroach onto the land they were claiming for. In other words, EU policy looked unfavourably on bushes growing wild. So when people blame agriculture, then play the ball and not the man. Biodiversity breakdown is due to policy diktat, not farmer misbehaviour.

A week earlier, I met with farmers in south Roscommon whose lands had been flooded.

Like the rest of us, farmers just want to get on with making a living and having peace of mind

Where land has been lost to the lake, farmers have had to cut cattle numbers in order to comply with stocking rules at considerable financial loss. And yet they’ve been farming in an SAC, adhering to strict rules and regulations for years to protect the environment which is now flooded with nesting areas for wildlife destroyed. Like the rest of us, farmers just want to get on with making a living and having peace of mind. The CAP has been tweaked and twisted several ways over the past 30-odd years and farmers have complied. Penalties remain very low, which is a good indication that they’re farming within the rules.

Let’s see what the EU Green Deal and new CAP will bring in terms of incentives and supports to tackle climate change. As always, farmers will follow the money. While it’s easy for condescending Twitter addicted environmentalists to chastise farmers over climate change, one wonders would they be as quick to go to Galway and help out the desperate farmers who are suffering more than the rest of us because of the freak weather? Answers on a postcard.

A potential upside

If there’s one good thing to come out of the coronavirus panic, it might be to have convinced men to wash their hands properly after using the bathroom. It’s frankly disgusting to observe while using pub or hotel toilets how blatantly dirty and unhygienic us male of the species are.