Over the last week, the IFA story has dominated conversations in not only farming households but in households up and down the country. If ever there was proof of agriculture’s importance and influence on Irish society, the media coverage of the IFA remuneration fiasco and the subsequent fallout is it.

There has been widespread reports of farmers across the country cancelling their membership and seeking refunds of their levies. Initially when the news broke, I was going to do the same. But, on further reflection, I realised that it would have been a mistake – Irish agriculture needs a strong representative body to deliver for farmers in Ireland and in Europe.

I firmly believe that this is not a real crisis for the IFA but an opportunity. In time, we will look back at it as a disruptive period where action had to be taken and change implemented.

I believe the IFA at the Irish Farm Centre needs to re-evaluate and ask itself if is it delivering on its sole purpose of delivering real value for Irish farmers and not its self-monetary gain. The leadership also needs to decide whether or not it wants Ireland’s best farmer leaders involved in the organisation. This can happen, but only if the IFA invests more money in continuous annual development of its farmer leaders, with the goal of creating truly strong and effective farmer leadership. Sadly, this was not a priority in the recent past and has led directly to the turmoil of the past week.

There is now a real opportunity for more young farmers to become active within the IFA and get involved in the local branches, participate in the leadership development structures and help drive the change that the association obviously needs. There is no point in hoping someone else will speak for you and then complaining when you are not heard or things don’t turn out as you expected.

This past week I was delighted to be elected chairman of my local IFA branch. I have been critical of the IFA long enough and I have realised that I can no longer be critical of an organisation that I am a member of while never getting actively involved in. Now is the opportunity for all members to get involved, engage with the association and help it move forward and continue to represent and protect all of the interests of Irish farming.

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Full coverage: Turmoil at the IFA