Lakeland Dairies has confirmed the re-election of Niall Matthews as chair of the co-op following its board meeting today (Thursday, February 10).

Matthews, who farms in Tully, Co. Louth, in partnership with his wife Juana, with their son and two daughters, was first elected to his role as chair in February 2021.

At the same meeting, Keith Agnew, a dairy farmer in Newry, Co. Down, was elected vice-chair.

Keith Agnew was elected vice-chair of the co-op

He farms a Holstein-Friesian herd in partnership with his wife Ruth and their three sons.

Commenting on his re-election, the chair of Lakeland Dairies said:

“I look forward to working with my colleague Keith and all board members as we continue the strong progress of Lakeland Dairies.

“We are grateful to outgoing vice-chairs Alan McCay and Andrew McHugh, both of whom served as under the interim rules of the society, following from the successful Lakeland and Lacpatrick merger completion and consequent board reconfiguration.

“Both Alan and Andrew continue on the board and we thank them for their contribution and commitment.”

“Lakeland Dairies processes 2 billion litres of milk annually into a wide range of dairy food ingredients, foodservice and consumer products, collecting milk from over 3,200 family farms across 16 counties north and south,” the company said.

The co-operative has eight major processing facilities and exports over 240 products to 80 countries worldwide.