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Local man Francie Gorman – the organisation’s president – was the guest speaker at this year’s Laois IFA AGM.
Laois IFA didn’t need to go too far for their guest speaker at this year’s AGM.
Held in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel on Wednesday night and attended by delegates from the various branches across the county, the keynote speaker was national IFA president Francie Gorman, himself a former county chairman and from just out the road in Ballinakill.
In a wide-ranging address, one of the topics that he touched upon that resonated across all agri sectors was the constant need for a new generation of farmers.
“Generation renewal is another huge issue and it’s come up time and time again as I’ve got around the country,” he said as he reflected on his past 12 months in the role of IFA president.
“And it’s been said in this room and not just by me, more often than not, that the best way to support the next generation of farmers is to see that the current generation of farmers are viable.
“And that is the problem we have at the moment, that too many of our farm families are being challenged income-wise.
He said land access, a fair price for their product, the cost of production and regulation are all putting huge pressure on farm families.
“A combination of all the three has made it more and more difficult for a farmer of whatever size to be able to bring a son or daughter home and be able to support a second family unit.
“And if you can’t support that second family unit on a farm, you are not going to have the next generation coming home.
“Because they might come home and farm part-time, but part-time farming in general will lead down the road to no farming.
“And that’s not getting at something that’s part-time farming. The people who work probably harder than anybody are the people who are in a job and come home to farm in the evening or farm in the morning before they go.
“If we can’t demonstrate to the next generation of farmers that farming and agriculture can provide a living and a lifestyle commensurate with what you can get somewhere else, we are not going to have them here. And that’s our challenge.
“And it’s a challenge for the whole of Europe. It’s across Europe, that challenge.
“And for me, the European Commission and the people who run our lives are going to have to make up their mind.
“Do they want food produced in Europe? Or are they going to hand over the job of producing food to third world countries?”
Our 2025 Remembered series is brought to you in association with Bloom HQ, Mountrath
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