A meeting is taking place this weekend in Co. Westmeath to explore the possibility of establishing a new organisation for farmers.
The proposal came from the Ireland’s Farming Discussion Group Facebook page, which has around 10,000 members.
Donegal farmer, Liam McLaughlin, who set up the page, told Agriland that there has been a great response to the idea.
“Since we decided to go with a meeting and put out the flyer, there’s been nothing but phone calls from all over the country, messages and offers help and advice. It just seems to have taken off from there,” he said.
Meeting
The meeting, which is open to all farming sectors, will take place in the Athlone Springs Hotel on Sunday (February 19) at 2:00p.m.
The meeting will be addressed by guest speakers, however McLaughlin would not confirm their identities. There will also be time for questions from the floor.
“I’m going into that room with no plan whatsoever. We’re going in there looking for information and feedback from farmers.
“The general aim of the whole thing would be to try and get the primary producer better paid for his produce.
“If the farmers or whoever make the suggestion that maybe we should form some sort of group then that will be looked into and investigated to see where it will go,” he said.
McLaughlin said that suggestions to significantly increase forestry, rewetting farmland and possibly cutting the national herd “is not going down well with people”.
“I think a lot of farmers feel at the minute that we have no representation, not with TDs or groups or organisations or anything else,” he said.
“I think a lot of farmers currently feel that they have been left hung out to dry.”
The organisers of the meeting have asked for “no input from current farm organisations or groups”.
“I have nothing against [farming] organisations, some of them have done great work, but I just feel there would be conflict in the room and the atmosphere wouldn’t be what we’re looking for.
“It’s kind of a new approach, farmers organising a meeting for farmers,” McLaughlin said.
Farmers
McLaughlin believes that there are “a lot of broken people” currently in farming.
“They’re kind of fed up trying and the chances are this meeting is the last chance for anybody to make any kind of a difference,” he said.
McLaughlin said that there is a divide among farmers, which he finds “very sad”.
“That will be another goal of this meeting to try and bring people back together. Farmers should be looking out for farmers and it’s not happening at the minute.
“The problem in this country is we have a lot of organisations and none of them have enough of a following to have any impact. We’ve too many organisations, truth be told,” he said.
McLaughlin said that if a new group for farmers is formed following the meeting it would be best run as a non-profit organisation, “so people can’t get carried away with themselves”.