Conference to hail ‘time of opportunity’ for young farmers

Retention of farm supports will be a key topic in this weekend’s Macra na Feirme annual conference, which takes place in the Tower Hotel, Waterford.

Macra president Alan Jagoe said: “We know that Budget 2012 will not be a savoury dish and will leave a very bitter taste in many mouths, but we must look at what is driving the recovery of our economy and that, as [Agriculture Minister Simon] Coveney is aware, is agriculture and the agri-food sector. We need to retain the current reliefs to aid land transfer as well as reliefs targeting farm consolidation.

“The theme of this weekend’s conference is ‘Young Farmers — The Opportunity of a Lifetime’. I believe, due international demand for food, the ambitions of Food Harvest 2020, CAP reform, and milk quota abolition, that it certainly is a time of opportunity.”