The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) hosted its 2026 Farm Family Day at Stormont on Monday, bringing together farming families, MLAs and industry stakeholders to celebrate the theme of resilience and highlight the importance of policies that support sustainable and resilient farm businesses from policy to practice.
Kindly sponsored by Aoife Finnegan MLA and co – sponsored by Robbie Butler MLA, the event focused on creating space for meaningful conversation around the policies and priorities that underpin resilient farm businesses and the families at their heart. With policy officers leading discussions on key sectors across agriculture, including arable and horticulture, livestock, rural affairs, environment, rural enterprise and animal health.
Speaking at the event, UFU President William Irvine said, “Resilience is something every farm family understands. It is the ability to keep going when prices fluctuate, when the weather works against you, when policy changes or when new challenges emerge.”
He added, “Across Northern Ireland, farm families are producing high-quality food, caring for the countryside and sustaining rural communities. Yet they are doing so while facing rising costs, ongoing market pressures and increasing regulatory demands.”
Mr Irvine stressed that resilience cannot exist without the right policy environment. “Resilience does not happen by accident. It requires practical policy, clear direction and the right support from government. That is why it is so important that farmers and policymakers have opportunities like today to speak openly about what is needed to strengthen farm businesses.”
Discussions throughout the day focused on moving conversations from policy to practice, identifying the key challenges affecting farm resilience and exploring practical actions that policymakers can take to support the sector.
Mr Irvine concluded by emphasising the importance of the role of the farm family at the centre of the industry. “Farming is more than an industry, it is a way of life that supports rural communities, food security and the wider economy. The future of agriculture in Northern Ireland depends on policies that work with farmers and give the next generation confidence that there is a future in this industry.”
The UFU thanked all those who attended including farm families, MLAs and the ABP Angus Youth Challenge participants for contributing to what was a constructive and positive day of discussion.
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