A south Galway based dairy, suckler and tillage farmer has formally accepted the nomination to run for deputy president of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
Pat Murphy, the current IFA Connaught regional chair and former Galway county IFA, has confirmed he accepted the nomination to contest the IFA deputy president election at the September meeting of the Galway county executive.
Murphy said he had decided to contest the election because “people who know me and trust me have asked me to”.
He said: “The leadership of IFA needs young full-time farmers, family farmers, and people who know what it takes to run a family farm and the struggles farm families face.
“The association needs this at the top level and this is one of the main reasons I put my name forward.”
Murphy has highlighted six key areas where he wants to “deliver on” including calf exports, carbon credits, emission targets, family farming, nature restoration law and the price of food.
He warned: Calf exports are vital to our national herd. Exports provides the only real competition to the power of the factories.
“We have seen in the past, when too many calves are held back the knock on effect it has two to three years down the line.
“Whether we like it or not, calf exports are in the firing line. Breed, quality, health and supply are all areas that we must improve on. If we don’t act, then we will be behind the curve and our destiny won’t be in our own hands”.
He also strongly believes that farmers “must be compensated for any action that sequesters or stores carbon on our land” and that farmers should also be “credited” for any action they take that reduces the amount of carbon on farms.
The father of three said that farmers across the country face challenges ahead including the nitrates derogation, which in some parts of the country, is set to be reduced from 250kg of organic nitrogen (N) per hectare to 220kg N/ha.
The current derogation is due to expire on January 1, 2026 but the derogation limit is also due to reduce to 220kg N/ha on January 1, 2024 in some areas.
According to Murphy this is “a huge blow to dairy farmers and their families all over the country.”
He has predicted it will have a “direct impact on profitability as farmers will either reduce cow numbers, effecting output, or rent more land”.
Alice Doyle, the IFA’s Farm Family and Social Affairs committee chair has also confirmed that she is running for the role of deputy president of the IFA.