The countdown is well underway to the Macra annual conference, better known as “The Rally”, which will take place during the October bank holiday weekend.

The theme of this year’s conference, which will be hosted by North Tipperary Macra at the Ballykisteen Golf Hotel, is “food supply and securing our future”.

It will be the first in-person conference for two years and according to Macra – the rally, whose key sponsor is Tipperary Cooperative – has already attracted huge support from across the country with some events already sold out.

Organisers are promising a “jam packed” conference which will include a key note address from Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, a dairy farm tour on John Crowe’s farm in Tipperary and a calf to beef farm tour on JP Hammersly’s farm in Tipperary.

Other key note conference speakers will include Dr. Stan Lalor, director of knowledge transfer in Teagasc and Gillian Willis, who is project manager at Bord Bia.

This year Macra will also host its first Pride Colour Run, the race is free to enter but organisers are hoping that people will contribute to donation buckets on the day with all proceeds going to Down Syndrome Ireland.

North Tipperary Macra intends to ensure that the 2022 rally will not only give members from 170 clubs a welcome opportunity to reunite but will also showcase the work of Macra as an organisation that encourages young people to play an active role in their local communities.

It is also promising that this year’s Saturday night and Sunday Banquet will be among the highlights of the event.

Macra is encouraging anyone would would like more information about next weekend’s event to check out details of the Macra annual conference rally on its social media sites.