Ireland has changed out of all recognition. We have been propelled up to third place in the world, out of 189 countries, on the UN Human Development Index.

This index takes into account life expectancy at birth, education and gross national income per head, which takes into account the distortions caused by the repatriation of foreign multinationals’ profits, etc. But how does farming manage in this kind of environment?

During the 1930s, and up to the 1950s, other industry existed behind a high wall of protection

We can so easily forget that for most of Ireland’s existence as an independent country, farming utterly dominated the economic and political landscape with the few industries that did exist based on processing farm-produced raw materials.

During the 1930s, and up to the 1950s, other industry existed behind a high wall of protection. EU entry and official tax and other policy developments changed all that but Irish farming had and still has to exist in the world’s trading environment.

The two countries ahead of Ireland on the UN table are Norway and Switzerland – both operate agricultural systems that effectively set farm prices and farm incomes to enable farmers to live like other sectors.

The gross national income per head in Ireland is €55,660 – in New Zealand, it’s €35,108

But Irish agriculture has to bear a cost base that reflects a whole range of regulatory changes, such as the second-highest minimum wage in the EU, after tiny rich Luxembourg, a raft of charges placed on industry such as insurance, health and safety protocols, environmental regulations, employee welfare and of course, a wage level set by some of the most successful corporations in the world. The gross national income per head in Ireland is €55,660 – in New Zealand, it’s €35,108.

The costs in the economy and facing farmers reflect this reality and the convergence of milk, lamb and beef prices of recent years essentially remove the price advantage that EU membership gave us.

While the changes in aggregate have been nationally very positive, their effect on farmers that have failed to expand or profitably diversify has been an enormous erosion of their earlier place in Irish society.

At a practical rather than emotional level, there is the dilemma of how a sector is expected to operate at world prices with EU environmental and cost constraints and one of the highest general income levels in the world imposing a high cost of doing business.

Many farmers are developing a future for themselves and their families but the challenges are real and should not be underestimated.