The election of a president to for the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) will take place on Wednesday, December 14, with two candidates in the running.
Current president of the ICSA, Dermot Kelleher is seeking re-election, while he will face competition from current sheep chair of the association, Sean McNamara.
The election will take place at the Midlands Park Hotel in Portlaoise, Co. Laois. Proceedings will begin at 7:00p.m with each candidate making a presentation to the association’s National Executive which will be followed by a ‘questions and answers’ session with the candidates.
The vote will follow, with a result expected at 9:00p.m.
ICSA election candidate – Dermot Kelleher
Kelleher is a west Cork man, hailing from Inchigeela, where he runs a suckler farm with his wife Mary.
They have five adult children, two of whom are farming. Dermot’s eldest son Christopher is now involved in the home farm where, alongside the sucklers, they keep a herd of pedigree Charolais cattle.
His other son Tim breeds pedigree Zwartbles sheep.
Dermot Kelleher has been the ICSA president for the past two years and has served as ICSA suckler chair and Munster vice-president in the past.
In a statement, Kelleher said he would prioritise issues such a food security if he was re-elected to the position of president.
“I want to put food security back at the top of the agenda both here and in Brussels. The environment and climate change are important, but we must not allow the importance of food production to be undermined by short-sighted policies,” he stated.
Another proposal being put forward by Kelleher as part of his election campaign is the establishment of a forum to connect farmers with experts who design agricultural schemes.
“I want to see a forum for farmers doing the work on the ground to talk directly to those designing schemes about the practicalities of doing the tasks without being shouted down and outnumbered by NGOs [non-governmental organisations] – some whom have a vendetta against agriculture and farmers… under the guise of environmental and climate change,” Kelleher added.
“We must make sure that the drystock sector is protected and not sacrificed for the big dairy lobby.
“Suckler, beef, sheep, and tillage farmers are not in derogation. Many of our members are fairly extensive and many on land that is not fit for any other type of farming. Without farmers all that land will go rank with no biodiversity.
“I believe we need to work together to fight the anti-livestock farming agenda which is well-funded and is making the climate change debate all about livestock farming and diverting attention from the responsibilities of the fossil fuel and energy sectors,” Kelleher said.
ICSA presidential candidate – Sean McNamara
Sean McNamara is a sheep, suckler, and beef farmer, farming in Lismacaffrey, Co Westmeath and is the current ICSA Sheep Committee chair.
He is married to Eleanor, and they have four children ranging in ages from 19 to 25 years old, three of whom are active in the farming business.
He also has a cattle and sheep haulage business and is, along with his son, involved in buying stock for other farmer clients and they also have an involvement in the live export of sheep and cattle.
McNamara has said that his priority, if he were to be elected president of the ICSA, would be to ensure a fair price is paid to livestock producers.
“If elected president, I will be focused on a fair price for livestock producers and fair play for all farmers when it comes to on-farm inspections,” he stated.
“Farmers in the drystock sector, the primary producers of beef and lamb, are being shafted week in week out.
“I want to see all farmers getting a fair share of the final retail price and an end to the expectation that farmers can somehow produce food below the cost of production. This problem has [gotten] worse with the escalation of input costs, and we cannot expect farmers to continue to produce,” he added.
McNamara has welcomed the establishment of a new Agri-Food Regulator, which he said the ICSA has been lobbying for for a number for years to ensure transparency in the food supply chain.
In relation to on-farm inspections, McNamara said: “I want to see more fairness for farmers in relation to on-farm inspections. As a general rule, farmers should be given notice of farm visits and schemes should be farmer friendly not tied up in red tape.
“If the government is serious about climate change, there must be adequate funding to assist farmers to improve. There is no other sector expected to achieve miracles without substantial funding and farming is no different,” McNamara added.
“I want to work to increase participation by younger farmers and female farmers in our organisation.”