Brian Dolan from Creeslough, Co Donegal, has been elected president of the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA).

The association, which represents 200 private agricultural advisory businesses nationwide, held its annual general meeting in Portlaoise on Thursday 5 March.

Dolan, a Cavan-born beef and sheep farmer, has served as vice-president of the ACA for the last two years and is succeeding outgoing president Michael Ryan.

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With almost 40 years experience in advisory, Dolan said that his number one ambition as president is to represent ACA's members as best he can and deal with their issues through regular dialogue with the Department of Agriculture.

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"We're [ACA] there to represent the advisers and, in turn, they're obviously dealing with a huge number of farmers - 60,000 or so - we've a broad reach and we have to bring any issues to the table and my job is to ensure that's done in an efficient way," he said.

Dolan's advisory business has been up and running since the 1990s in Creeslough, with in the region of 1,000 farmers on its books.

"I first started with ADAS in England and then I came back and worked for FBA [Farm Business Advisory] for a number of years in the early '90s and then set up my own business in Donegal.

"I claim to be from west Cavan - a place called Corlough. I spent all my early years on the home farm there," he said.

Dolan's wife Margaret Anne O'Reilly is also an agricultural science graduate from UCD and works full-time at his business.

"I met Margaret Anne in UCD. She joined the business in the early '00s. She was previously an adviser with Monaghan Mushrooms. We were the class of '87," he said.

"I have a conventional beef and sheep farm myself and I keep some Irish Moiled cattle. I'm also a director of the Irish Moiled Cattle Society," he said speaking following his appointment on Thursday.

The ACA is the sole representative body for private agricultural consultants and advisers in Ireland.

There are in the region of 500 private advisers across Ireland while another 300 are Teagasc advisers.