The Bord Bia stand (Block 3; Row 11; Stand 248) this year highlights the success of Origin Green in positioning Irish food and drink as a premium product at home and abroad, the key role farmers play in its success through the Sustainable Assurance Schemes and the career opportunities it is generating in marketing and promotion for talented young people committed to the success of the sector.

Tara McCarthy, CEO, is looking forward to talking with farming families about the exciting market initiatives and career opportunities within Bord Bia and the industry.

She said: “We want our farmers at the National Ploughing Championships to see the vital role they play in the success of Irish food and drink exports, the career opportunities in the organisation that come from an expanding export growth and the supports we have in place for them to best prepare for their independent farm audit which is critical to the integrity of Ireland’s unique offering to foreign food buyers.”

Live demonstrations

Bord Bia will also be actively encouraging farmers who are not members of the schemes to join and strengthen the industry in meeting the market and climate challenges facing Ireland in the coming years.

It will hold three live demonstrations (11am, 1pm and 3pm) each day on how to best prepare for the independent on-farm audit, which is critically important to consumers and food buyers, with particular focus this year on record keeping and animal remedies.

Its Sustainable Assurance Scheme team will be on hand to run through the programme with visitors and as usual will be on hand to deal with individual enquiries.

As in previous years, Bord Bia’s livestock experts will also be in the livestock arena for live demonstrations, with the carcass types best suited to Ireland’s target markets hanging in the Bord Bia stand so that visitors can see at first-hand the conformations that market demands.

Talent recruitment

The expanding reach of Bord Bia in search of new markets is generating exciting career opportunities within the organisation and in its graduate programmes, with over 30 additional recruits this year and the whole range of academic and organisation opportunities will be explained in detail to visitors.