I know it seems like the entire country is ripping out the suckler shed and installing the milking parlour but this name took the Dealer by surprise. One of the men most synonymous with suckler farming and the Irish beef sector over the past decade, John Bryan, is currently planning to enter the world of milk.

Bryan, who served as IFA president from 2010 to 2014, is setting up the parlour in Inistioge, Co Kilkenny, with his wife Rena and their son James. He is currently drawing up plans to be milking cows in 2019.

He spoke to me on Wednesday and, although he was remaining tight-lipped, confirmed that he hopes to lodge the planning application in the next two weeks before applying for TAMS to soften the financial blow in the new year.

He expects to have “at least” 12 units in the parlour and while cow numbers have yet to be decided, the cow will be a Holstein Friesian type because he wants to finish everything to beef. He tells me that while the capital expenditure will be high, the running costs will be on par with his current beef system.

“The overheads of meal and the like in suckling and beef are eye-watering,” he said.

Bryan’s move to dairying took me aback. He has always been an unashamed beef man.

He served as the IFA’s livestock chair from 2004 to 2008. He was also instrumental in the campaign to ban Brazilian beef from the EU a decade ago.

Of course, this is just Bryan’s latest job. He started life as a member of An Garda Síochána before getting into beef farming. He then took up the IFA president gig before trying to get into politics for real with Fine Gael.

There would appear to be an exodus out of the suckler sector in Inistioge. He tells me that as many as five of the biggest and best suckler farmers in the parish have either converted or are planning to put in the parlour.

It would appear the whole country wants to milk cows.