Francess McDonnell

Francess McDonnell Profile Picture

Francess McDonnell is an award-winning journalist and producer with significant experience in covering agriculture, agri-business and business issues. She has worked with the Irish Times, Sunday Times Ireland, Sky News Ireland, BBC Northern Ireland and the Belfast Telegraph and Irish News. Her family has farmed for generations and is part of a rural, lough-shore community where her interest in farming, agri-business and rural issues first began. She is a graduate of De Montfort University, Leicester and the School of Journalism, Cardiff University.

Pre-tax profits at Coillte fell by more than €60 million last year
Pre-tax profits at Coillte fell by more than €60 million last year

Pre-tax profits at the semi-state forestry company, Coillte, slumped by more than €60 million to €61.5 million for 2023 according...

Healy-Rae: Pay farmers ‘on time, every time’
Healy-Rae: Pay farmers ‘on time, every time’

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has been urged to pay farmers “on time, every time” by the...

Govt under fire from TDs for wet weather response for farmers
Govt under fire from TDs for wet weather response for farmers

The Government has been accused of wasting a “great deal of time” before putting measures in place, particularly in relation...

CSO: Cattle slaughterings up 1.7% in first three months of 2024
CSO: Cattle slaughterings up 1.7% in first three months of 2024

The number of cattle slaughtered in Ireland rose by 1.7% in the first quarter of this year when compared with...

HSA farm inspection campaign ‘deferred’ until May 7 – Heydon
HSA farm inspection campaign ‘deferred’ until May 7 – Heydon

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, told the Dáil today (Wednesday, April...

Lakeland Dairies to ‘be on the ground in Europe’ to fight for derogation
Lakeland Dairies to ‘be on the ground in Europe’ to fight for derogation

Lakeland Dairies’ senior management intend to be “on the ground in Europe meeting MEPs over the next few months” to...

FDA confirms ‘presence’ of bird flu virus in pasteurised milk samples in US
FDA confirms ‘presence’ of bird flu virus in pasteurised milk samples in US

The US Food and Drink Administration (FDA) has confirmed that some pasteurised milk samples have “indicated the presence” of the...

Watch: Time for farming to get ‘treated with a little bit of respect’ – Taoiseach
Watch: Time for farming to get ‘treated with a little bit of respect’ – Taoiseach

It is time for the agriculture sector and farming “matters” to start “getting treated with a little bit of respect”...

Concentration of land ownership ‘is a problem’ – TD
Concentration of land ownership ‘is a problem’ – TD

The concentration of land ownership in many parts of the country “is a problem” according to the Independent TD for...

Turnover fell at Arrabawn Co-op in 2023 but operating profit rose
Turnover fell at Arrabawn Co-op in 2023 but operating profit rose

Arrabawn Co-op has reported a 20% drop in turnover from €505 million in 2022 to €403 million in 2023, latest...

Excise duty must be paid if agri-diesel brought in from NI – Revenue
Excise duty must be paid if agri-diesel brought in from NI – Revenue

Revenue is advising farmers that if they bring a quantity of agri-diesel from the north to the south – that...

Lakeland Dairies targets acquisitions with €100m fund
Lakeland Dairies targets acquisitions with €100m fund

Lakeland Dairies is on the look out for potential new acquisitions in the UK, Europe and the United States “to...

Co. Down farmers top Lakeland Dairies’ milk payments league table
Co. Down farmers top Lakeland Dairies’ milk payments league table

Farmers in Co. Down received €115.9 million in milk payments – topping Lakeland Dairies’ milk payments league table for 2023....

Sharp drop in turnover and profit at Lakeland Dairies during 2023
Sharp drop in turnover and profit at Lakeland Dairies during 2023

Lakeland Dairies has blamed a “challenging year” for a €300,000 drop in turnover to €1.6 billion in 2023 compared to...

Report: Profitability of some farms in EU is ‘being squeezed’
Report: Profitability of some farms in EU is ‘being squeezed’

The profitability of some farms in the European is being squeezed by lower agricultural prices, according to a new report...

GDT auction results: Increase of 0.1% in price index
GDT auction results: Increase of 0.1% in price index

The average Global Dairy Trade (GDT) price index rose by just 0.1% following the latest auction results today (Tuesday, April...

Dairy farmers drove agri-building activity in 2023 – specialist
Dairy farmers drove agri-building activity in 2023 – specialist

The majority of planning permissions granted for new agriculture-related building developments were secured by dairy farmers last year latest figures...

Judge rules on case over lands in Donegal inherited by a nephew
Judge rules on case over lands in Donegal inherited by a nephew

A High Court judge has ruled on a case in which it was claimed that lands in Donegal were “illegally...