The conference – Shaping the Future of Dairy: Agtech solutions for dairy production and climate – was co-sponsored by Irish Farmers Monthly, MSD Animal Health and ifac, and attracted a stellar line-up of global thought leaders and industry experts to discuss the impact of new technologies, European trends, and our changing climate on the Irish dairy sector.
The closing of the conference was a fitting time to pay tribute to Irish Farmers Monthly, founded in 1974. For five decades the publication has been a respected and authoritative voice of the Irish agricultural sector, reporting on, highlighting and analysing the key issues affecting Irish farmers.
Commenting, publisher of IFP Media, David Markey, said: “This is an important day for my family. My wife, Mai, and I purchased Irish Farmers Monthly in 1975, a year after it was first published. Many people in the audience today have played significant roles in the success of the publication and I thank them greatly for their support over the years. Irish Farmers Monthly has always been editorially led and we have been fortunate to have had so many talented editors and journalists working over the five decades on the title. I acknowledge our current editor Matt O’Keeffe, who has worked with me for over 30 years and, of course, the management and staff in IFP Media.”
Pictured at the Shaping the Future of Dairy - Agtech solutions for dairy production and climate conference: Karol Kissane, head of Public Sector Services and Economics, ifac; Cara Sheridan, Ruminant Veterinary Integration manager, MSD Animal Health; Tara McCarthy, global vice pesident, ESG at Alltech; Anne Randles, director of Corporate Affairs, Ornua; David Leydon, head of Food and Agribusiness, ifac; and Andrew Meredith, editor of Farmers Weekly. Photo: Niall O’Brien, IFP Media.
Conference
Conference keynote speaker, Tara McCarthy, global vice president, ESG at Alltech, addressed the climate debate and took a global view of how farming is perceived across the world and a farmer’s social license to produce: “Global populations are growing and demand for food is increasing. We believe that agriculture has the greatest potential to positively shape the future of our planet.”
Anne Randles, director of corporate affairs, Ornua commented: “EU and Irish dairy farmers are facing similar social, economic and environmental challenges in maintaining and growing milk output over the medium to long term. Innovation, including agtech adoption in its many guises, will be crucial to unlocking opportunities and ensuring the long term viability of the sector.”
Andrew Meredith, editor, Farmers Weekly, said: “The pace of change within agriculture at a political and technical level is extremely rapid at the moment, and food producers in the UK and Ireland are under pressure to continually do more with less. Conferences like this are not only vital for knowledge sharing to cope with this but a well-needed boost to morale and I look forward to building closer links with friends in Ireland off the back of this.”
Other speakers at the event included: Conor Mulvihill, director of Dairy Industry Ireland; Damien McLoughlin, professor of Marketing, UCD; David Leydon, head of Food and Agribusiness, and Karol Kissane, head of Public Sector Services and Economics, ifac; Cara Sheridan, Ruminant Veterinary Integration manager, MSD Animal Health; Karina Pierce, professor of Dairy Production, UCD; and Mark Keller, interim CEO, National Dairy Council.
Special recognition
The conference closed with a special presentation to Michael Berkery, chair of the FBD Trust, to acknowledge his 50 years at the heart of Irish farm politics.