Three themes dominated exchanges between farmers and Bord Bia senior staff at the first Farmer Forum Roadshow meeting in Dungarvan on Monday night. Larry Murrin’s tenure as chairman was an inevitability, with trenchant and repeated criticism.
Bord Bia CEO Jim O’Toole told the meeting “the appointment of the chair is a ministerial decision”.
“Nobody else has any say in that,” he said.
This did not quell criticism of his retention over recent months. One farmer said Murrin was “actually laughing at you” to the top table.
Origin Green also featured heavily, with farmers unhappy at what they saw as the lack of importance placed on provenance, despite repeated assurances that it is one of the continuous improvement criteria.
Bord Bia sheep and livestock sector manager Seamus McMenamin highlighted that 95% of beef exports are quality assured.
Jim O’Toole said: “I’m very satisfied that Origin Green has added value to the Irish food and drink industry”.
The question farmers were asking was, has Origin Green added value to Irish farmers produce.
The third issue was farm audits, with a few farmers very critical of experiences. Andrew Mahon of Bord Bia highlighted that every farmer who has a quality assurance audit is invited to comment on their experience via text.
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