Times have really changed when the bank advertising at the entrance to the Balmoral Show reads “No bull. Just clear guidance on climate change”.I headed along to the annual event on Thursday for a chat with Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister Andrew Muir after he set out his priorities for his department.
While the turn in the weather has brought with it some hope and a rush to get that work done, the months just past have clearly driven home the message they are on the frontline against climate change and will probably feel it’s impacts the worst in this wee place. And it’s about time supermarkets and agri-food producers stepped up and took some responsibility for just how damaging and unsustainable modern day agricultural practices have become. They’ve had a huge role to play and in Northern Ireland it is causing so much havoc with our environment that we can no longer escape it in terms of what’s happening with Lough Neagh.
They have put up signs to alert visitors to Rossigh Bay to exercise caution and avoid contact with the water and adjacent shoreline. Only 16 have been recorded across Ireland since it was first noted in 2016, with Bog Meadows Nature Reserve off the M1, now proudly standing as the water insect’s debut NI location.