MILK can boost health in teenagers and promote weight loss as part of an adult diet — two messages high on the agenda for new National Dairy Council (NDC) chief executive Zoe Kavanagh.

PRESSURE has increased on Glanbia to increase the price it pays suppliers for milk as the global dairy markets begin to recover.

DESPITE an increasing trend among employers towards a refusal to countenance pay increases, Guinness maker Diageo has agreed to a 2.5% rise due to a number of its staff under the national wage agreement.

Connacht Gold is investing €3m in the redevelopment of its landmark store at Deepwater Quay in Sligo. The new store is scheduled to open in February 2009 and will create in the region of 10 new jobs in the town.

FIVE new members have taken their seats on the board of Agri Aware, the farming and food educational body set up in 1996 to highlight the importance of agriculture.

MONAGHAN Mushrooms, one of the largest producers of fresh and processed mushrooms in Europe, says it has experienced another difficult year, with profits dropping once again in 2006.

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.