Deputy Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Diana Armstrong has praised the hard work done by farmers in Northern Ireland to ensure food production continues despite the extremely difficult weather.
She said farmers had spent one of the toughest weeks of the year racing for silage during one of the hottest periods the country had ever seen to keep the food production cycle going.
“Last week was probably the toughest of the entire agricultural year, and you simply can’t miss this week across the country,” Armstrong said.
“No matter where you were, you could hear the sounds of harvesters, tractors, garbage collectors, and the roar of engines running all day and into the long nights.
“It’s been an anxious week, with everyone working against the clock to get the grass in before the weather turns.
“Long hours, extreme heat, and little rest,” she added. “But our farmers wouldn’t have it any other way, because they love what they do. It’s the work they grew up with, and it’s in their blood.”
UUP MLA, Diana Armstrong. Image source: Facebook
The MLA said there would be no labor union to protest against the farmers, adding that there were no complaints about minimum wages or no demands for better working conditions.
She continued: “They simply continue their work quietly and without fuss.”
“But they need our support. This will be a year of lower incomes and additional pressures on farming families, in an industry already burdened by red tape and bureaucracy at every turn.
“We would all do well to remember that it’s weeks like these that put food on our tables and stack the shelves we often take for granted.
“The abundance we enjoy does not come by chance. It is earned by the men and women who work our land in the heat and long days.”
A UUP representative said he was committed to pushing for more support for farmers in Stormont.
