Cowen to speak at ASA conference with cutbacks to dominate agenda

THE impact of Government cutbacks on the employment of agricultural graduates is one of the key items for discussion at the Agricultural Science Association (ASA) annual conference on September 11.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen will be the guest speaker at the conference banquet in the Castleknock Hotel on the previous night.

The conference, which is sponsored by FBD, will hear the views of Professor Gerry Boyle from Teagasc and Gerry Gunning, Irish Farmers Association. They will speak on how the cuts already announced and those proposed in the so-called Bord Snip Nua report will affect the agri-food sector and the rural economy.