Shaping our future: animal health in a global trading environment

Irish farming is facing a period of unprecedented change, in large part due to the increasing globalisation of agriculture. The challenges to Irish farming are substantial, given ongoing reductions in farm-gate returns to Irish farmers, as a consequence of increasing international competition, decreasing levels of subsidy support as a result of international (WTO) and EU-level decisions and a rapid increase in the relative cost of production of Irish product.