Firms across Cork have been urged to enter this year’s Cork Chamber Company of the Year Awards by previous winners who said the accolade had opened new doors to business.

European Commissioner Phil Hogan firmly warned the Irish agriculture industry to further diversify in the wake of Brexit.

BREXIT has been a catalyst for Irish food and drink exporters to review their UK resources, supply chain and currency arrangements, effectively exposing business stress points that could easily have hindered future growth.

Failure of the EU to reach a deal with the UK will be “appalling” for Ireland and especially for the economy outside Dublin, the boss of Dairygold has warned.

The Brexit threat is the gravest agri-business has ever faced in Ireland, bosses at Dairygold have warned. Dairygold chief executive Jim Woulfe said dairy, beef and rural industry faced a crisis if a hard Brexit occurred, an event which he said had “gigantic repercussions” for Ireland.

Ornua is targeting €1bn in annual Kerrygold exports with the launch of Kerrygold Park, its new €38m butter production and packing plant already up and running four months in Castlefarm, Mitchelstown, Co Cork.

Dairygold will create a significant number of new jobs when its proposed new Jarlsberg cheese plant becomes operational in 2019.

Dairygold says it will continue to give its suppliers a strong milk price during 2016, despite global market pressures having driven its 2015 profits down 34% to €19.2m from €28.6m in 2014.

Cork hurling manager Kieran Kingston is set to finalise his backroom team with the likely addition of Frank Flannery as a coach.

Courageous abuse survivor Louise O’Keeffe is set to take on the State again over its “insulting” settlement offer arising out of her landmark legal case.

It’s ladies to the fore as the 2014 Cork Person of the Year will be announced this week.

Dairygold’s recent expansion in Mallow has brought with it fresh hopes that the town will soon see the development of a €25m ring road to alleviate traffic congestion.

Dairygold’s €117m investment in its Mallow and Mitchelstown sites will give the north Cork co-op the processing capacity it needs for next year’s abolition of EU milk quota restrictions, said the company’s chief executive, Jim Woulfe.

Dairygold has reported a record operating profit of €27.3m for 2013, up 33%, with revenues up 16% to €847m, and a record milk intake up 4% to 959m litres.

Dairygold members’ plans to increase their milk output by 57% by 2020 are at the core of the co-op’s ambitious post-quota strategy.

We take a look at the vacant seats in counties countrywide.

Limerick will swiftly begin their search for a new senior hurling manager after Corkman John Allen decided to step down from the position following a two-year stint in charge.