Excitement is building as we are just weeks away from our Women & Agriculture conference, which takes place on 23 October in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Sligo. Tickets are selling fast and we expect more to fly out now that we can reveal that Neven Maguire will be doing a small DJ session at the event. Neven is, first and foremost, a celebrated chef who will bring our attendees on a culinary journey with his cookery demonstration, using the best of Irish produce. But given the success of his DJ set at Electric Picnic this year, he agreed to give the decks a little whirl as well. He also has a treat for the conference. Two winners will be selected on the day to join Neven for a cookery class in the Dunnes Stores HQ kitchens in November. If you aren’t able to attend our Women & Agriculture conference, all our readers (both male and female) can enter. We’re asking you to share your signature dish that you’ve lovingly made for family and friends over the years. See page 17.

We want to hear your views on the visibility of women in farming, whether that has improved in recent years and if you feel there is a reluctance to leave farms to women or daughters

Succession is a topic we frequently discuss at the conference. It is so relevant to farming families – whether you’re making a plan for the farm, in the middle of the journey or offering advice to others on what your family did (or didn’t do) right when the farm was being handed over. This year, we want to reflect the views of our readers and attendees, which is why we are running a succession survey (scan the QR code to the right of this column with your phone).

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During the event, we will discuss the results and the opinions of male and female readers on farm partnerships, succession and land ownership. So, we want to hear your views on the visibility of women in farming, whether that has improved in recent years and if you feel there is a reluctance to leave farms to women or daughters.

A study carried out by Maynooth University and funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine which was published in March showed that 87% of farmland in Ireland is male owned. What are your thoughts on unequal land ownership? What role could Government play in supporting female land ownership? As well as discussing the results at the conference, we will also publish them anonymously in print and on farmersjournal.ie. Your input is important, so our conversation truly reflects the views of our readers.

Finally, many readers will be aware that Jack Kennedy stepped down as editor of the Irish Farmers Journal this week. During his time as editor, Jack was a big supporter of Irish Country Living, and really believed in the importance of telling the stories that reflect life in rural Ireland – whether that be through inspirational features of farm diversification, giving farmers solid financial and legal advice or reflecting the on-the-ground issues that impact farming families.

On a personal note, Jack has been a massive support to me as editor of Irish Country Living. He was always there to give guidance and we worked together to constantly improve our offering to readers. There has been a lot of hard work and also a good few laughs along the way, which always made the job more enjoyable.

We wish Jack and his family the very best.