OPINION: Tendency within farming community to keep things under wraps

Once again, Ratheniska, county Laois played host to one of Ireland’s biggest gatherings—the National Ploughing Championships.

It’s a remarkable event, really, where the world of wellies and well heeled collide, and for three days, rural and urban Ireland come face-to-face.

For many, it’s a rare chance to experience a taste of farming life, and for those on the farming end, it’s a chance to showcase our pride in what we do. But as I watched visitors wander through the stands, I couldn’t help but wonder: do they really get it?

Because for many Irish people, the Ploughing Championships is as close as they get to experiencing farm and maybe its not very reflective of farming realities.

There is fantastic educational work being carried out in the school systems connecting farm to fork with programmes run by AgriAware and Farmer Time.

But for those in the wider community, there is a gaping absence.

I didn’t grow up on a farm myself. In fact, until I married into this life, I had no idea what it really involved.

You hear about early starts and long days, but until you’re standing in a field at 5am with a stubborn cow who’s determined to do the exact opposite of what you want, you don’t *really* get it.

The sheer amount of work that goes into farming is mind-blowing—and I think that’s where a lot of the disconnect comes from.

From the outside, farming might look like a peaceful life, full of fresh air and freedom and it can be. But its also very much a relentless grind, dictated by the weather, the seasons, and the needs of the animals.

It’s no surprise that many, who have a romantic notion about farm life, don’t see this day-to-day slog and might misunderstand what farming actually entails.

This misunderstanding doesn’t just exist at a casual level; it’s reflected in some of the policies that get passed down from on high.

Rules made in offices far from the fields can feel impractical, like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

There’s also a tendency within the agricultural community to keep things under wraps. We’re not ones to shout about our struggles from the rooftops.

Farmers are, by nature, stoic. You bottle things up and get on with it.

But that silence can sometimes hurt us, because if we don’t speak up, how can we expect others to understand our challenges?

The tricky part, though, is finding the balance between highlighting the realities of farming without constantly sounding like it’s all doom and gloom.

Yes, we’ve got problems—costs are rising, sustainability is an ever-growing challenge, and regulations can feel stifling. But there’s also a lot of good news, innovative practices and hope within the sector that often gets left out of the conversation.

Back to the National Ploughing Championships, for example.

It’s not just a showcase of tractors and machinery; it’s a celebration of innovation, sheer scale of diversity and work ethic within the farming community.

From the latest tech helping farms reduce their environmental impact to the interest from younger generations in agri-careers, there’s plenty to feel optimistic about.

We need to do more to platform those positives.

Farming isn’t just a string of hardships—it’s a lifestyle filled with small victories, deep connections to the land, and a resilience that’s hard to find anywhere else.

It’s time we did a better job of sharing those stories with the public and focus on wider community inclusion. Maybe then, the next time we meet at the Ploughing, we’ll find that the gap between rural and urban isn’t so wide after all.

Katie Gleeson is an online content creator who documents family life on a dairy farm in rural Tipperary via her Instagram account @katieinthecountry.