Sir, - To what end does Patrick Byrne rant against farmers and the agricultural community (May 26th)? Mr Byrne presents a litany of illegal and irresponsible activities as if these activities are characteristic of, and accepted practices by, farmers. This is not the case. But rather than defend farmers against such an onslaught, let me ask what meaningful contribution has Pat Byrne or his fellow anglers in the National Anglers Representative Association made to protecting our rural environment?
While he is not afraid to attack all around him in defence of his "recreation", farmers are investing heavily to protect their livelihood, and to limit the impact of agriculture on the environment. Since 1990, farmers have spent £1 billion on measures to eliminate pollution and safeguard water quality on their farms. Some 44,000 farmers are now participating in the Rural Environment Protection Scheme which will have a measurable impact in improved water quality.
As the representative organisation of farmers, the IFA undertakes, at the demand of our members, wide-ranging environmental initiatives, including the instigation of a national waste farm-plastic collection scheme and various awareness campaigns, including a national radio campaign, as reported in your own newspaper, alerting farmers to the risks to water quality from silage effluent at the start of the silage-making season. - Yours, etc., Jim Devlin, Executive Secretary, IFA National Environment Committee,
Bluebell, Dublin 12.