Over 40 poultry farmers gathered outside the Hillgrove Hotel in Co Monaghan on Thursday morning, where a planned Bord Bia poultry meeting was to take place.

The protest centred around the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) demand that Bord Bia chair Larry Murrin resign from his position on the back of his company Dawn Farm Foods importing Brazilian beef in 2025.

The Irish Farmers Journal understands that the meeting was to discuss a new poultry producer standard being rolled out by Bord Bia and the meeting was to be attended by Bord Bia representatives, processors, field staff and representatives from the IFA, including poultry committee chair Brendan Soden.

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Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal from the protest in Monaghan, Soden said: “Bord Bia cannot expect any farmer to participate in discussion around a new poultry producer standard given the situation we are in at the moment with the Bord Bia chair Larry Murrin importing Brazilian beef.

"There are some important questions or be answered today around Larry Murrin's use of Brazilian chicken in his business also, which undermines Irish poultry producers," he said.

The protest takes place as pressure mounts on the Bord Bia chair as he prepares to go before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture later in the day at 12.30pm to answer questions around his use of Brazilian beef.

Workshop

A Bord Bia spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal that a workshop was scheduled for Thursday 5 February to discuss the progression of pilot audits in the context of avian influenza and associated biosecurity risks.

“The IFA had advised that they were unavailable to attend meetings this week for reasons unrelated to the ongoing dispute and were informed that the workshop was going ahead. Due to the presence of IFA members outside the Hillgrove Hotel in Monaghan this morning and concerns for attendees, Bord Bia cancelled the workshop.

“Bord Bia remains committed to engaging constructively with industry stakeholders and considers the discussions planned for today to be important in supporting the sector. It is therefore disappointing that Bord Bia has been unable to carry out work, in support of the industry, because of this disruption.

“Stakeholders will be contacted to reschedule the meeting,” the spokesperson said.

You can follow all of today’s action on our live blog.