FARM groups in the north, in separate messages looking to the year ahead, have expressed hope that 2017 brings the sector "more pleasure and a lot less financial pain".
Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) president Barclay Bell and Sean McAuley from Farmers For Action (FfA) each refer to the uncertainty around the outworking of the EU referendum outcome - but both also focus on the positives, with a weaker sterling maintaining better commodity prices.
Mr Bell said the start of any new year is always a mix of hope and trepidation, adding that farmers certainly hope it will be a better year financially.
"By any standards 2016 was a difficult year across all sectors, with poor prices hitting farm businesses hard," he said.
"This time last year few would have predicted the outcome of the EU referendum, and going forward, we as a union have a tough job on our hands as we need to ensure farmers’ interests are protected in the negotiations, and that the industry is central to the development of a post-Brexit UK and local farming policy."
He added: "Our industry also needs to develop new ways to deal with price volatility. This is not just the farmer's responsibility. There is an onus on processors and retailers to recognise how fundamental the primary producer is to their businesses.
"All farmers want is a price that reflects what it costs to produce high quality food. Volatility has always been a frustration, and with EU support only guaranteed until 2020, we face a huge challenge to ensure a sustainable price for those who produce food."
He said: "A UK Agricultural Bill in 2018 may well be the road-map for our industry for the next 20 years. It's important that the younger generation of farmers feed into the debate.
"Whatever the outcome, we will all need to embrace the changes that come our way, and see them as an opportunity to create a new farming policy for the UK.
"People sometimes ask if there will be a next generation of farmers. But I am convinced that if they are part of the debate about our future we can all look forward to a reinvigorated and vibrant UK farming industry."
The UFU - which next year celebrates its centenary - added: "We need to be sure our politicians and the public fully understand the importance of food and farming to the local economy. To deliver that outcome, farmers and the wider industry must speak with a single voice, and not with the voice of self-interest for particular enterprises or sectors."
Meanwhile Sean McAuley says he believes 2017 will be a "crossroads year" for many farming families with regard to the shortage of income and the uncertainty which has forced many to question if they can continue with more of the same, only to put themselves further in debt or deplete any savings or off-farm incomes.
He pledged that Farmers For Action will be about putting every effort into making sure that a legislation bill on farm gate prices to return Northern Ireland farmers a minimum of the cost of production plus a margin inflation linked across the staples begins its path through Stormont in early 2017.
"This is the best option we have to be able to produce food across the staples as intensive, traditional and organic farmers," he said.
"If this plan were to fail, then FFA’s advice would be simple - stop intensive farming, lower your inputs, go traditional farming or go organic. This route would reduce supply in the marketplace, protect your farm from going into debt and allow you to cruise with hugely reduced input costs, less financial pressure and at the same time ramp up the pressure on farm gate prices with reduced supply."
