RELATIONS have finally broken down between Northern Ireland’s farmers and Andrew Muir, the Alliance agriculture and environment minister.

An angry protest has been held outside Stormont, where politicians from other parties – mainly unionists – promised a vote of no confidence in Muir when the Assembly reconvenes in September.

The ostensible cause is a cull of neglected cattle at Fivemiletown and its handling by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera).

But farmers and their representatives have been openly hostile to the minister since he took up his post two years ago and prioritised tackling the nutrient pollution behind the crisis in Lough Neagh.

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The Ulster Farmers’ Union made this connection itself after an emergency meeting at Stormont about the cull.

Its president, John McLenaghan, complained of “institutional dysfunctionality for quite some time” at Daera.

“We see that in this instance, we see it around the nutrient action plan proposals, and we see it around many other issues,” he said.

“That dysfunction is something we need to........

© The Irish News