The Country 17/03/25: Chris McCullough talks to Jamie Mackay

On St Patrick's Day, we're joined by Irish Ag Journo who says the iconic day is celebrated more in the cities and with tourists than in rural Ireland. Plus, we look at tough times for farmers under Sir Keir Starmer, FMD in Europe and Trump's tariffs potentially hitting the Irish dairy industry hard.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It is Saint Patrick's Day here in New Zealand. In
Ireland it's Sunday evening Saint Patrick's Day for them tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
But we thought we.

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Would get an Irish voice on the show, so we're
going to chat to Chris McCullough. He's a freelance multi
media journalist based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. And Michelle was
telling me earlier this morning, Chris that Saint Patrick's Day
is not such a big deal for the locals in Ireland.
It's more about the tourism.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Well, it's you know that we do have some celebrations
in the bigger cities, some priands and some different things
happening in programs happening. But yes, it's quite a tourist
attraction in any city opening around the world. But over here, yes,
for us Sega's business normal day here tomorrow. Are you
in the semi rural area where we are, I mean

(00:48):
we'll not see in green floor and baskets at the
long grass.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
Oh well, and Rory McElroy is doing all right on
the grass and Florida at the moment, I think, well
he is as we record this. He's leading the fifth
major of the players Championship, So that would be a
good result if he can bring that one home for Ireland.
So what's a normal day at the office for Irish
farmers on Saint Patrick's day? Sir kaya Stamer is doing

(01:11):
you guys in Northern Ireland no good at all.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
He's doing nobody no good at of and what we
can from what we can tell, he's cutting things left,
right and center. And it's got their stage now, Jamie
where farmers in England and Scotland are actually saying the
Labor government and kier Stammer he hites farmers, which is
a hell of a strong word, but that's how sentiment
is going towards him these days with all his cuts

(01:37):
and Hardin's tax his leyas cut as a multi billion
pound green farming program that saw farmers planting wild meadows,
looking after a hedge rows, etcetera, etcetera. He's taken that
off the cards, off the table, and there is concern
that he's going to do something about subsidies.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
The inheritance tech basically kills farm succession and the ability
for farmers to hand down or no you don't hand
down the farm, but to transition a farm from one
generation to another.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
Correct, that's right, so not popular at all.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
He seems to be peacocking a wee bit on the
world stage though.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
He's I think he's going to get knocked off his
podium very soon. He's just moten a wee bit too
much from what he can is able to deliver, you know,
in terms of a lot of things politically, and he's
leaving his let's call him servants over here to deliver
even more by news to the farmers where he stands

(02:37):
in Sodi Arabia or wherever. He is trying to make
himself popular, but he's so unpopular he never be popular.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
We're heading into our autumn here in the Southern Hemisphere,
it follows that you're heading into your spring and the
Northern hemisphere. Hew's the winter been for farmers in island.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
It hasn't been too bad, you know these days is
we have a lot of sunshine sticking around twelve degrees
ten to twelve degrees. It's pretty cold that we touch
a frostill in the morning. But we haven't seen rain
for a couple of weeks. And I think there's a
little bit common this end of this week or end
of this week coming in but the farmers are working away.

(03:15):
The slurry ban is off, so the slurry is full
speed ahead at the moment, and the farmers are getting
food is ready for whatever harvests or crops are planning
to get in. But a bit of heat, we'll see
a bit of grass coming in the Causally.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Out are aris farmers, and I will be concerned about
what's happening in Maineland Europe with foot and mouth disease.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
Absolutely absolutely is the dreaded, the dreaded talk again about
this Foot and mouth disease has just had another outbreak,
this time on a fourteen hundred cattle farm on the
Hungary Slovakian border, and all of a sudden, the countries,
including the UK, have banned all imports from Hungary and Slovakia.

(03:58):
It appeared about a month ago in Jermy as well
on water Buffalo that time. But if it keeps dawn upligus,
I mean, where's it going to end? Is this going
to get worse again? Back to two thousand and one?

Speaker 1 (04:09):
I hope not for your sake. The other big threat
for farming for agriculture out there the world over is
Donald Trump's terraffs Ireland like New Zealand a strong dairying nation.
You'll be keeping your fingers crossed that he calls US
jets a.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
But yeah, the Irish have a big, big export market
into the US dairy situation. I mean, there's one of
the butter brands here seems to put pump a lot
of stuff into there, and it's North America and Europe
is the biggest outlift for Irish potter But if these
tariffs come in, we could be seeing a failure of

(04:44):
our of the southern Irish potter market dairy market, and
New Zealand may even get in there and take over
from us.

Speaker 1 (04:51):
Chris McCulloch, thank you very much for your time. No
doubt tomorrow Monday, Irish Time you will have a Guinness.
You couldn't get through Saint Patrick's Day without a Guinness.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
I don't like the stuff whatsoever. It should be used
for fill and Paul.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
First time I tasted it, I thought it was horrible,
But spending a week in Ireland, by the time I
left the your wonderful country, I developed quite a taste
for it. Hey, thank you very much. That's because I
like beer. Chris McCulloch, out of Northern Ireland. Thanks to
your time, no

Speaker 2 (05:20):
Worries, tears, deary