They say 'Love is in this air' this month. Well, maybe for the most Romantic of you farmers out there! Unfortunately, the only love for me at this time of year is the good old Crème Egg!! Thankfully Cadbury's don't give me the option of Organic or Free Range, as I don't think my MLA salary could afford a major price rise on my bad habit!

The harsh reality of intensive poultry farming has been given a lot of bad press lately by celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnely Whittingstall. By showing us shocking images of the conditions in which chickens are reared, they have encouraged the public to 'think before they eat'.

I have read with great interest that local towns have been seeing a noticable increase in demand for organic and free range chicken on the back of this recent televison coverage. With people now willing to fork out that little bit extra money for better chicken welfare, the battle between ethics and cost cutting is only just beginning.

Does the idea of battery-farmed chicken bother you, or do you simply not care? Do you think that cheap chicken is all-important? Do you know what the difference between free range, freedom food and barn chicken is? Use the form at the bottom of this page to let me know what you think..

Another issue that is never off the box is that of Climate Change. Is 2008 the year that you start to make a few little changes in everyday life, that just might have a major impact on our planet? Reducing our individual Carbon Footprint is, unfortunately, an issue that is not going to go away, and something that our farming industry in Northern Ireland can open new doors with.

With the EU committing to use Biofuel in 10% of road transport fuels by 2020, renewable energy crops and other alternative land uses are an exciting option for the local farming industry. This has the potential to bring sustainability to the rural economy and contribute to the challenge of climate change. To do this effectively, we need policies in place that would give growers an equal chance compared to growers in other EU member states. We need tax incentives and a more favourable financial top-up on the EU Energy Crops Scheme, like our neighbours in the Republic of Ireland.

Northern Ireland has a natural advantage with our temperate climate, and therefore, as a society we need to be taking steps now, not tomorrow, to meet its environmental obligations.