Tag Archives: IFA president

The race has officially begun to find a successor former IFA president, Eddie Downey, who resigned recently amid the controversy over salary payments to top figures in the organisation. IFA national treasurer and returning officer (NTRO), Jer Bergin has today (Thursday) opened nominations for the position of president of the organisation. The resignation of Eddie Downey means an election for president must be held, involving the members voting in the branches. The National Rules Committee met yesterday and advised the NTRO to seek nominations for the position of president, which he has notified to county executives. The nominations must be returned by 5.30pm on Wednesday, January 6, 2016.

In what have come to be known as “tractor protests”, members of the Clare farming community, led by IFA president, Eddie Downey, staged a protest in Dunnes Stores car park in Ennis this Tuesday morning. This was part of the ongoing national campaign to highlight the sale of prime beef at low prices in a number of the main supermarket chains. Having gathered at Clare Marts on the Quin Road, the farmers made their way along Clonroad to Dunnes. There they chained shopping trolleys together and a number of speakers, including Mr Downey and Clare IFA chairman, Andrew Dundass, addressed the crowd before the protest ended.

The IFA, in association with Treemetrics, has launched a new forest assessor service for farm forestry members. At the launch, IFA president, Eddie Downey said  forest assessor was another service that would benefit private forest owners by providing more knowledge about their crop and, ultimately, providing a better opportunity for farmers to realise the full potential for their timber. IFA Farm Forestry chairman, Michael Fleming noted that it utilised the most up-to-date technology to accurately predict the quantities of log products that each tree can produce and their potential value. “Using this technology, members will be provided with a more accurate and independent forest management system, helping to capture more value from the forest resource,” he added. Forest assessor will be rolled out nationally with demonstration events being organised for the coming weeks. For information about how to book this service, details are at www.ifa.ie/sectors/forestry.

More than 30 Munster IFA livestock farmers staged a tractor protest outside the Aldi supermarket in Mitchelstown, County Cork earlier this Monday. At the protest, IFA president, Eddie Downey said livestock farmers are stepping up their campaign against the price and specification cuts imposed by retailers and factories. He said farmers feel betrayed by the unacceptable behaviour and lack of corporate responsibility on the part of the powerful retailers and meat factories to their farmer suppliers. Mr Downey warned all of the major retailers, including SuperValu, Dunnes, Tesco, Aldi and Lidl, and the factories that the anger and frustration of farmers is at boiling point and the unjustified price and specification cuts, which are severely damaging farmers and the Irish beef sector, must be reversed. “With beef prices in our main markets in the UK and across the EU stable and recovering, the current attack on prices led by the factories cannot be justified,” he said. The president pointed out …