AgriLand has appointed Brian McDonnell as its new dairy specialist.

Brian is from Raheny, Co. Dublin. He is a graduate of Dundalk IT, having completed an honours degree in Sustainable Agriculture.

He has worked on dairy and beef farms in both Ireland and the UK, including Teagasc Grange and a large-scale 650-cow dairy farm which also had a 1,200 animal youngstock-rearing farm in Scotland.

He has a keen interest in agriculture and particularly the dairy sector and in his spare time is active in local rugby and golf.

Brian joins the AgriLand team as the average net margin on dairy farms in 2021 is forecasted to decrease by 23% per hectare, according to Teagasc.

Last week, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue told the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) that the UK is the single-most valuable market to Ireland accounting for 20% of the value of the country’s dairy exports.

Brian commented: “Brexit is a major challenge facing the Irish dairy sector. I look forward to reporting on the changing situation while ensuring that dairy farmers are kept up-to-date with relevant information.”

‘Latest Technical Developments’

Commenting on the appointment, managing director Cormac Farrelly said: “I’m delighted to welcome Brian to the expanding AgriLand team.

“He joins us at a time of great uncertainty for agriculture with Brexit just around the corner and he will add to the already extensive and relevant specialist technical information that AgriLand provides.”