“MY father put his heart and soul into the farm, he really put everything into this. It’s him I really feel sorry for.”

HUNDREDS of jobs are to go in west Waterford and east Cork following yesterday’s confirmation that the ailing Cappoquin Chickens plant is to close by the end of October.

SHOCKED, devastated, gutted, fearful about the future — the reactions of workers at Cappoquin Chickens after the cloud that hung over the plant all summer finally burst yesterday afternoon.

Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) representatives warned the entire industry faces a similar fate as Cappoquin Chickens if lax labelling laws which allow cheap foreign imports to be passed off as Irish are not addressed.

A BUYOUT that could save hundreds of jobs at a key poultry processing plant Cappoquin Chickens is in sight.

THERE is growing pessimism about the future of a poultry processing plant in west Waterford, with no sign of a rescue deal being completed.

FARMERS hoping to buy out the ailing Cappoquin Chickens plant in Co Waterford are being thwarted by the credit crunch and a lack of time in their efforts to save hundreds of jobs.

AN ENGLISH poultry company is to meet today with representatives of Cappoquin Chickens to discuss a possible rescue bid.

An English poultry company is to meet with representatives of Cappoquin Chickens to discuss a possible rescue bid, it was revealed today.

ANGRY farmers last night joined Ireland’s largest supermarket chain in rejecting claims by a top chef that chicken sold in shops is akin to poison.

SO MANY of the habits surrounding the food we eat, the sustenance we give to our children, are shaped by fashions advanced by television’s high-kitchen evangelists.

POULTRY producers in Ireland were urged last night to maintain the highest levels of vigilance after three swans were found dead in Dorset, Britain, with the lethal strain of bird flu.

POULTRY farmers this week continued their stringent bio-security controls, which have so far kept Ireland safe from the dangerous H5N1 strain of bird flu.

CONSUMER confidence in poultry remains high in this country following the bird flu outbreak in England.

The Irish Farmers Association is seeking to reassure consumers that it is still safe to eat chicken despite the spread of bird flu across Europe.

CONSUMERS were assured yesterday that the risk to Irish chickens from avian flu is very small.