Around a quarter of a million people are expected to attend this year's National Ploughing Championships, which got under way in Screggan, Co Offaly today.
President Catherine Connolly officially opened the event, which takes place against the backdrop of a number of prominent issues facing the country's farmers, including the rising cost of energy and climate change.
This is the fifth time Screggan is hosting the event, which runs from today until Thursday.
In her opening speech, President Catherine Connolly criticised a lack of action taken on tackling climate change, saying that as a collective, we have not taken proper action to address it.
She also said the situation is starting to impact food production in Ireland, noting a major drop-off in the number of vegetable growers.
The Championships are happening at a critical juncture for the country's farmers, who are facing into much uncertainty.
Notably spiking energy costs, and proposed cuts to their EU funding.
Farmers are also dealing with the fallout from an exceptionally dry and warm summer - which stunted grass growth, forcing many to break into their winter fodder supplies early.
At the heart of the 700-acre site in Screggan is ploughing, with more than 350 competitors and 34 unique classes.
A number of major livestock competitions will also be staged across the week - including the All-Ireland Aberdeen Angus Finals today and the National Calf Finals and Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition tomorrow.
Assistant Managing Director of the National Ploughing Championships Anna Marie McHugh said between 250,000 and 270,000 people are expected to attend the event over the next three days.
"There's something new in every sector every year, and something for everyone," Ms McHugh said.
"The young people want TikTok and all the fancy cookies and all the different things and the O'Neill's and all that too, so everyone has a thing that they're into," she added.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said next year's event will take place a week later than usual - on 21 September - because it would otherwise clash with the Ryder Cup.
The proposed cut to ringfenced EU CAP funding by around a fifth is also likely to feature heavily later in the week when EU Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen is expected to be in attendance.
President of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) Francie Gorman said the organisation was urging the Government to have a budget that is "fit for purpose".
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said: "We currently have a cut of almost €100 billion from where we started out last year, even though the overall spend has gone up nearly €900bn.
"And to achieve the aims that I think everybody espouses over the lifetime of the CAP, that budget would need to be nearer €500bn than the €300bn it currently is.
"So there's a real responsibility on our Government to particularly make sure the proposals put forward by (European Commission) President (Ursula) von der Leyen earlier on in the year that they are put on the table."
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Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon told the same programme that the CAP budget is not controlled by Ireland.
However, he said he is working to agree aspects related to the sector that EU member states can control.
He said: "We have to strike a balance in designing the new scheme to make sure that we give flexibility to recognise that in Ireland we farm differently than Slovenia or Slovakia.
"When I'm designing this scheme next year, that the CAP is designed in a way that suits our farming system. But in doing that, we need to protect the commonality of the Common Agricultural Policy.
"They sound contradictory positions, they're not. There's a sweet spot there in the middle we have to try and land on."
Read more: What to expect at the National Ploughing Championships?
Meanwhile, two separate studies launched this morning at the event indicate the stark challenges facing the country's agricultural sector.
A survey of 2,300 farmers across all sectors, commissioned on behalf of Agriland and the ICMSA (the group representing dairy farmers), suggests that at least one in three of them intend to exit farming within the next five years.
Watch: 'The best show in Ireland' - A day at the National Ploughing Championships
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According to the research, "it is not just the older farmer demographic likely to exit; two in 10 (20%) of farmers aged 45-54 say they are likely to exit within five years".
Another study focusing on the finances of 1,170 dairy farmers - carried out by agricultural research company Rerouted Results - indicates that only half of them have lined up a successor to take over their operation.
The same survey found that the median dairy farmer takes just 10 days' holidays per year, with one in 18 taking no days off at all.
A standard adult ticket for the 2026 NPC booked in advance online costs €32, while tickets bought at the gates on the day cost €35 for all entrants.
