Ten years of the Women & Agriculture Conference. Ten years where we have travelled the country from Athlone to Kilkenny, to Kerry, Meath, Sligo and now Carlow. Ten years where the audience has experienced the most poignant moments and the best of laughs – and it was no different for the 750 women who travelled to the Mount Wolseley Hotel in Carlow last week.

Each year, there is always a speaker who everyone talks about, and this year it was David McWilliams. Taking on the subject of Brexit, he said we needed a fresh approach to negotiate the best deal with our nearest neighbours. “Our interests are totally different to anyone else and yet we are allowing someone from France to negotiate for us,” he said.

McWilliams felt that a separate but parallel negotiation process would be in Ireland’s best interest, and he emphasised the unique relationship we have with the UK.“The point is, we trade with them, the point is they’re our nearest neighbours, the point is we have a border with them,” he said. This was all delivered in a characteristically entertaining speech that not only tackled this important subject, but had everyone laughing in the process.

When Maureen Gaffney took to the stage, you couldn’t hear a pin drop. She spoke about how the ladies in the audience could be best equipped to deal with the contentious issue of succession planning. While handing over the farm is a business move, it is also a very personal one. Much focus is put on the “next generation” during the process of farm transfer, but she encouraged the older generation to visualise their own future. “Think where you want to be at the end of your life, what matters to you, how you want to feel, who you want to have in your life. Most people have the simple answer of being happy surrounded by the family they love, but to get there you need to nurture relationships in your life. It isn’t easy, in fact succession planning can be a messy business but relationships have to take priority.”

Succession planning was also the focus for succession planners Sian Bushell from Wales and Clare O’Keeffe of Succession Ireland. Sian spoke about the fact that even simple stuff like logistics can make a big difference. “I truly feel if the younger generations are building a house on the farm, it shouldn’t be within sight of the current family home. People need their privacy, there has to be boundaries.”

The hard subjects were really tackled at this year’s conference, especially during a robust debate on how few women are taking up leadership roles in farming organisations and on co-op boards. Helena Jonsson from the Federation of Swedish Farmers and Kari Redse Haskjold from the Norwegian Farmers Union both travelled to discuss their role in their respective organisations. Joan Fitzpatrick from Kilkenny spoke of her ambition and experience as a candidate for a senior position within the IFA. Responding to the debate, Joe Healy, president of the IFA, said he was not happy with the current situation and intended to assemble a group to consider what can be done to increase the number of women coming through to senior positions in the association.

However, it wasn’t all serious discussions. The night of the gala dinner, Oliver Callan was a roaring success as he took on the personas of President Michael D Higgins, Leo Varadkar and Mícháel O’Muircheartaigh. Irish Country Living columnist Damien O’Reilly got a real wow from the audience when he introduced brothers Rob and Dave Kearney, while the Willoughby Brothers had the 750 women up off their seats dancing.

So that’s it for another year. We’re already looking forward to seeing you all next year, ladies. CL