One of the great achievements of the IFA through the decades is how it has held together its broad coalition of members. The IFA draws its strength from the breadth of its base, with farmers on everything from 10 to 1,000 acres. Members vary by farm enterprise from dairy to sheep to potatoes, on mountain, hill, lowland and bog. Somehow, this coalition has held through divisive CAP reforms.

There are always pressures: the CAP cake – the national envelope – can only be cut so many ways. This happened under the stewardship of the recently resigned Pat Smith.

There is a danger that former general secretary Michael Berkery is being elevated into some form of sainthood. He was as capable of mistakes as anyone. However, he was a superb conciliator, and maintained a dialogue with those members on the margins of the association, convincing them their interests were better served within the tent rather than outside of it.

The most recent CAP negotiations were perhaps the most fraught ever. No one was really happy with the outcome. Bizarrely, the people whose payments increased were the least happy – particularly west of the Shannon.

Unhappiness that the IFA did not pursue flat payments or front-loading was deepened by the belief that promised prioritisation of RDP programmes towards farmers in the west failed to materialise. As a result, Hill Farmers for Action emerged, with IFA activists Brendan Joyce and Colm O’Donnell resigning their IFA posts to found the new group.

Then there were the malting barley growers. A significant proportion of Boortmalt’s suppliers are convinced that the IFA and Boortmalt are far too cosy. The Irish Malt Growers were founded, and are chaired by another prominent IFA activist, Tom Cushen.

Then there are the southeast milk producers. They held their inaugural AGM this Monday. This group left Wexford and Glanbia and are supplying Strathroy. Many of them have also left the IFA, saying they were pro-management in the Glanbia joint venture process and the Wexford Creamery sale to GII. Again, IFA activists feature in this group, such as SEMP secretary Ornagh D’Arcy.