The Future of Farming #1

The first Future of Farming event brought farmers, advisers and industry voices together for an open conversation about the decisions shaping the next generation of Irish farming.

Held online on 30 April 2026, the discussion focused on succession, financial structure and the role of new technology in helping farms remain viable, adaptable and in family ownership.

Rather than following a rigid presentation format, the event was designed around conversation. Farmers were encouraged to ask questions, challenge assumptions and explore what the future of their own farms could look like.

What stood out most was how closely the different themes connected. Succession could not be separated from financial planning. Technology could not be separated from labour, profitability or land use. And almost every discussion eventually came back to the same issue: having clarity about where the farm is going before circumstances make the decisions for you.

The event also proved that these conversations can lead to something tangible. Ideas raised through the discussion helped shape further work, including the early thinking behind the Meitheal succession platform.

Future of Farming began as a conversation, but its purpose is bigger: to create a space where farmers can think ahead, hear different perspectives and make better-informed decisions about what comes next.

The Future of Farming is an evening designed to create something that can be hard to find in agriculture: the space to step back, look beyond the day-to-day, and think seriously about where your farm is going.

Farmers and leading voices from across the industry will come together for an open conversation about succession, financial structure, changing farming systems and the forces shaping the next generation of Irish agriculture.

But this is not a conference where you simply sit and listen.

The audience will shape the evening. Attendees will put forward the questions, challenges and issues they want discussed, with the panel responding in real time. If something matters to the people in the room, it can become part of the conversation.

There are no sales pitches, no carefully scripted answers and no presentations designed around selling a product or service. The focus is on thoughtful discussion, different perspectives and practical insight from people with real experience of the issues facing Irish farms.

The purpose of the evening is simple: to give farmers the opportunity to step back, ask better questions and leave with greater clarity and direction around what comes next for their farm, their family and their future.

Clarity has to come before action.
Whether the issue is succession, investment, technology or farm structure, families need to understand what they are trying to achieve before choosing the tools to get there.

Succession is much bigger than tax.
Tax matters, but successful succession also depends on family intentions, ownership, income, housing, fairness between family members and the long-term viability of the farm.

Doing nothing is still a decision.
Many of the biggest problems arise when decisions are continually postponed until illness, death, financial pressure or another outside event forces action.

Technology should solve a real farm problem.
Innovation such as virtual fencing can change how land, livestock and labour are managed, but technology is most valuable when it fits into a wider plan for the farm.

The different parts of the farm cannot be planned in isolation.
Finance, succession, technology, labour and land management increasingly overlap. Decisions in one area can have major consequences elsewhere.

Farmers need a stronger voice in shaping what comes next.
One of the clearest lessons from the event was the value of putting farmers into the conversation early, rather than presenting them with finished solutions afterwards.

Good conversations can create real projects.
The event was not intended simply to produce discussion. Ideas that emerged from the first Future of Farming conversation went on to influence practical projects, including the development of the Meitheal succession platform.