DEAR SIR: We would like to bring to your attention that our two discussion groups based around the Greenfield Farm in Kilkenny are shocked at the decision of Glanbia to propose the closing down of Greenfield Farm with another five years of the project left.

We have been meeting monthly on the farm and have gained an invaluable amount of knowledge. For us, it has been the foundation of very successful dairy farms. We requested a meeting with the chair of Glanbia, Martin Keane, last week for us to express our views as to why the decision was wrong, untimely and ill-considered. While it was acknowledged that Greenfield Farm has been a huge success and a fabulous project, the chair of Glanbia felt that there were new challenges for the sector around labour, sustainability, carbon and water quality that were more important to address. We expressed, firmly and resolutely, that the farm was best-placed to demonstrate how to deal with these new challenges that we now face in a fully transparent manner.

Additionally, the negative damage that will be portrayed from terminating a lease before it’s time is up, and after massive investment on the farm, now needs to be investigated. Can our milk supply agreements be terminated as easily?

We also offered to purchase shareholding from Glanbia if it felt so strongly that it did not want to continue being associated with the farm. But, more importantly, we asked that it doesn’t let a project of this importance terminate prematurely and reconsider its decision. We left the meeting deflated and disillusioned that our processor, Glanbia, would pull out of a project that was part of Food Harvest 2020 and of such national importance for the sector. If a solution is not found the blame lies clearly at the door of the farm owners and Glanbia.

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