The candidates for national president are Odile Evans from Plattenstown, Arklow, Co Wicklow and James Healy from Kilmartin, Donoughmore, Co Cork.

Leinster and Munster vice-presidents

The candidates for Leinster and Munster vice president are running unopposed, meaning that Cara O’Mahony of Mountain View, Naas, Co Kildare is new Leinster vice president and Tom O’Donoghue of Crowhill Upper, Cappoquin, Co Waterford is the new Munster vice-president.

However, their new roles will not be officially announced until the day of the election which takes place on Tuesday 4 April 2017.

O’Mahony is a primary school teacher and was chairperson of Naas Macra when it won Best Emerging Club in 2015. She also represented Macra at the European Youth Event in Strasbourg in 2016.

Her aims for the role include listening to and working with young farmers in Leinster as they face the challenges of Brexit and CAP 2020 and increasing the PR of Leinster Macra with the aim of developing new clubs and getting new members in Leinster.

Tom O’Donoghue is former president of the Cappoquin club and was a Gold Leader Distinction Award winner in 2016. He was also Waterford’s Young Farmer of the Year in 2012.

He wants to lobby for tax incentives to allow farmers to build up cash reserves in case of market volatility

His aims for the role are to promote farm safety and education, to lobby and push for productive policies for young farmers and to lobby for tax incentives to allow farmers to build up cash reserves in case of market volatility while also devising methods for farmers to use current assets to reinvest in their farms without hefty capital gains tax penalties.

Read more

Presidential Macra candidates to go head-to-head in hustings