The number of Irish people who have never visited a farm is surprising, Kilkenny dairy farmer Jim Mulhall has said.

Speaking at the Agricultural Science Association (ASA) conference, Mulhall, who is vice-chair of Agri Aware, said he was taken aback when he realised at a recent open day organised by the agri-educational body how many people have not had exposure to farms.

“It was striking the amount of people and school teachers who had never been on a farm before in their lives.

“There was a time when everyone was one generation away from a farm. If you weren’t from a farm, your uncle out in the country was the farmer.

"But that dynamic has changed in Irish society. People are becoming more urbanised in society, so people are one step removed."

Mulhall added that he believes that collectively, as a sector, farming, alongside the agricultural industry, needs to communicate the positive story it has to tell.

“We’re all well aware of our social licence to farm and how the public perceives us. I believe collectively as an industry, everyone in this room, we have to communicate to the consumer the job that we’re doing,” he said.

Trust in Irish food

As part of a panel focusing on the future of farming, Mulhall said consumers have a huge amount of trust in Irish food.

“With respect to people who are in organics, there’s a reason organics are not able to get that much ahead of conventional food in this country, because, ultimately, consumers in this country trust Irish food.

“There’s a reason the supermarkets put a tricolour on the labels, because when the consumer walks through the door, and we’re all consumers, if you see the tricolour you will move to buy that product.

“We have a good story to tell and it’s important we communicate that story,” he added.