The Dealer sees that Ornua is looking to hire a minder for the ‘golden goose’ of Ireland’s food brands – namely, Kerrygold.

The farmer-owned dairy marketing co-op advertised recently for the position of managing director, global foods.

The advert says the successful applicant will be a “key member of the executive team” who will head up the co-op’s consumer foods and brands division.

In layman’s terms, that means looking after Ireland’s blue-chip dairy brand, Kerrygold, which is the main driver each year of Ornua’s €3.4bn in export earnings.

To paraphrase the iconic advert, the incoming managing director decides who’s taking the horse to France – and to Germany, the US, UK and every other lucrative market for Irish dairy produce.

Here’s wishing the new incumbent well - his or her success is worth 2c/l to 3c/l on milk price to dairy farmers.