Traffic disruption is expected next week when farmers stage a national tractor protest over what they see as the Government's neglect of farming.
The Farmers' Association says the recent Budget undermined confidence to an alarming extent, but the IFA leader John Dillon said the demonstrators will do everything possible next week to minimise upset to other motorists.
Last year was difficult for farmers, with atrocious weather conditions and incomes falling by 8.5%.
The Book of Estimates and the Budget brought more bad news of further cuts and extra costs, estimated by the IFA at €200m a year.
The IFA also says that farmers on average earn €15,000 annually - about half the industrial wage - and that over 20,000 farmers have been forced in the past decade to get part time jobs to supplement their incomes.
Now the IFA says it is standing up to prevent what it calls 'the silent extinction' of farming.
Starting on Monday, farmers all over the country will take their tractors onto the roads, and converge in Dublin tomorrow week.
On Monday, demonstrations will begin in Ballina, Tralee and Bantry. The drivers of Cork tractors will protest near the home of the Minister for Agriculture in Clonakilty along the way.
Thousands of farmers from other counties will become involved on each successive day driving towards Dublin, with 300 tractors entering the capital on Friday.
The IFA says next week's protest involving tractors will be the first in a series of demonstrations. It says it will continue to highlight the problems until the Taoiseach and the Minister for Agriculture fully understand farmers' difficulties.
The Association also criticised reports this morning suggesting that farmers could lose out in a review of higher level education grants.
However, Minister Joe Walsh has repeated that while he was disappointed with the drop in farm incomes last year, they had increased by 39% in the previous two years.
