Macra na Feirme seems to be caught in the crosshairs of funding and its agricultural policies.

The Dealer noticed its backing of compulsory EID puts it at odds with the other farm organisations. And this week at an Oireachtas Committee meeting its president James Healy said it would not support a suckler cow payment, preferring instead to see more money put into the Beef Data and Genomics Programme.

Macra received almost €250,000 in funding through the IFA/Macra milk levy in 2017, but does not receive any money from the drystock sector. Some say the dairy agenda is driving its overall policies. It will be interesting to see what comes out of the beef policy document Macra is working on.

In the year of CAP reform, the president focused his keynote speech at the AGM on funding issues related to Katherine Zappone’s youth affairs department. The address did scan farming issues, but with a wide-angle lens, mentioning the five-year rule and BDGP.

Fundamental shift

A fundamental shift in the structure of the organisation came the previous week, when it adopted a new constitution that would see it move from trading as an unincorporated association to a company limited by guarantee. The membership of what was previously called its national executive, now the board, used to be made up of the presidential team, secretary, treasurer and five national council representatives. However, in the new constitution, the board will have reduced Macra representation. The presidential team (president, secretary, treasurer) will still be part of it, with three representatives from council. The past president will stay on for two years. Three independent members who are not members of the company and can bring specific expertise to the board will be elected.

The change to Macra’s constitution, with improved governance structures, is largely to keep its main individual funder, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, happy.

It also ticks a box for the Charities Regulator as Macra has decided to keep its charity status and face up to the increased scrutiny on the charity sector, after recent scandals.

But The Dealer notes that while Government money is a large source of funding for Macra, the combined contribution from agriculture, be it milk levies, sponsorship of key program areas, patron and associate memberships and the Department of Agriculture would exceed Zappone’s contribution. Farming is still at the heart of Macra finances.