Here is a selection of people who have just begun interesting new roles with companies in Ireland

Agri-food businesses are growing faster than any other sector across the island, InterTradeIreland’s quarterly business monitor report states.

A high rate of attrition ripped through the Clonmel-based Sepam Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally that was won by Cork driver Darragh O’Riordan (Ford Fiesta WRC) and his Derry co-driver Tony McDaid.

With tensions in the Middle East causing crude oil prices to rise, a co-op’s new woodchip-burning energy plant in Roscommon can cut oil use by 70% and halve carbon emissions, reports Ray Ryan.

The IFA has given a guarded welcome to the election of Aurivo Co-op chief executive Aaron Forde as the incoming chairman of the Irish Dairy Board, following the resignation of Vincent Buckley.

Motorists are asked to be patient this weekend as agri co-op trucks deliver urgently needed hay and other animal feed to farms nationwide.

A second man has died after a 40ft wall collapsed at a DIY store in Longford town.

One man has died, a second is fighting for life and three others are seriously injured after a 40-foot wall collapsed at a DIY store in Longford Town.

Connacht Gold has appointed Eoghan Sweeney as general manager of its consumer foods business.

Connacht Gold’s year-end milk price projections in the “mid-to-high twenties” could lead to some dairy farmers taking a hit of more than 25% in their present incomes.

Connacht Gold has reported that their turnover reached €345m compared to €296m in 2010, a 16% increase in 2011.

CONNACHT Gold Co-op has boosted its milk pool to 370 million litres by acquiring Donegal Creameries’ milk and retail store businesses for €13.5m, ending months of stop-start negotiations.

Up to 30 jobs are being created by one of the biggest co-ops in the country.

CONNACHT Gold Co-op has reported a 13% rise in turnover and a sharp increase in pre-tax profits.

Westport: Connacht Gold has announced that it will begin the expansion and upgrade of its Westport DIY & Garden Centre in May.

PARTNERSHIPS with giant overseas co-ops and the sale of under-performing subsidiaries are likely to figure in a new five-year strategy document which the Irish Dairy Board (IDB) is expected to publish in March.

THE turbulent times in farming are set to continue and only the fittest will survive, Connacht Gold chief executive Aaron Forde told about 800 people at a forum on farming hosted by the co-op in Claremorris, Co Mayo.

ONE of the country’s leading dairy co-ops has launched a summer campaign to encourage communities in Connacht to get out and support businesses and employment in their own region.

A €1.75 million loss was recorded by Connacht Gold last year, according to the co-op’s annual report published yesterday.

NEW processing and marketing structures in the dairy industry are now urgent, a co-op leader has claimed.

OPERATING profits at the dairy-to-property and investment group Connacht Gold more than trebled last year.

CONNACHT Gold Co-op has a substantial land bank of close to 300 acres that it plans to develop in the next few years at a cost of €100 million.

CONNACHT GOLD chairman Padraig Gibbons described the co-op’s results for last year as a solid performance.

THE challenges facing farmers and food processors in the West of Ireland set it apart from other regions.