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Can our involvement in community organisations such as Macra na Feirme have a beneficial impact on our careers? Dead right it can, according to career coach Liam Horan of SliNuaCareers.com. “The things you do in your spare time can reveal a great deal about you. They can show that you are community minded, effective within a team and committed to developing your skills and knowledge,” said Liam. “We are not linear beings. We are not just our careers or our professions. There is so much more to us. The person we are is influenced by a wide variety of factors,...

Macra na Feirme retains its position as the third highest lobby organisation on the Lobby Register following the close of the most recent lobby period behind IBEC and the Irish Farmers’ Association. Macra na Feirme engaged in a nationwide lobby campaign involving young farmers and young rural workers with numerous Ministers, MEPs, TDs & Senators lobbied on supports needed for young farmers and rural young people in Ireland. The most recent lobbying activities registered by Macra na Feirme included the importance of digitalization of Rural Ireland and the important role in which young farmers will play in future EU environmental...

Macra na Feirme welcome Minister McConalogue’s recent commitment to accommodate the ‘forgotten farmers’ for payments under the new CAP. “We are delighted with the news and we welcome Minister McConalogue’s commitment to resolving the matter for the affected young farmers in the new CAP arrangements. This has been a long time coming as these young farmers have been left out in the cold for far too long”, said Macra na Feirme National President Thomas Duffy. Macra na Feirme have been lobbying for this for a number of years with previous Agriculture Ministers and have raised the matter with the EU...

In the recent Macra na Feirme Young Farmer Survey undertaken by 134 young farmers the influence of TB status was clear. The impact of TB status on the ability to sell and the preference of buyers was addressed in the young farmer survey with the majority of young farmers (81%) answering that TB status would influence their purchasing choices. The attitude to TB status varied by the enterprise, dairy farmers were more concerned (86%) than beef farmers (75%) but the large majority of farmers across sectors agreed that the TB status of a herd would be influential. “TB is one of the most devastating diseases. The TB eradication programme has dragged on for years and young...

Covid-19 has changed the way we approach our workday with many commutes being eliminated allowing for that time to be used differently. In the recent Macra na Feirme Rural Youth Survey those working in rural Ireland outside of farming were asked a series of questions concerning their work/life balance and the impact of Covid-19 on their lives. 53% of all young rural people surveyed responded that yes, they would like to work from home or from a remote working hub in the future, with 34% of respondents answering that no, they would not like to work from home or from...