Laois leaders honoured at prestigious conference

A prestigious new award in memory of former IFA president and Durrow man Padraig Walshe was presented this month at an event where an emerging Laois farm leader was awarded a Nuffield Scholarship.

The Nuffield Ireland annual conference took place at the Mount Wolseley Hotel in Carlow on November 10. It was officially opened by the Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Pippa Hackett.

The theme for this year’s conference was “Finding Common Ground” between consumers and the farming community which was discussed by agri-communicator and keynote speaker Amy Jackson, Director of Oxtale and Nuffield UK 2012 Scholar.

“We cannot expect the world to change around us, we need to be part of that change. However, we need to engage on society’s terms and not our own. Being willing to come to the table is not enough. What we really need to think about is how we can take charge to bring people to our table in order to develop trust, accountability, and transparency to start to be in control of the issue.

One of the four returning Nuffield Ireland presenting scholars was the inaugural recipient of a new award in honour of the late Mr Walshe who passed away last February. He was a Nuffield Scholar who would later lead the IFA as president.

Joe Leonard, Nuffield Ireland Chairperson, spoke about the inaugural Award.

“This award will be given annually to the best presentation by a returning scholar, as voted on by the conference attendees. The award will include a beautiful perpetual trophy which is Ronan Halpin’s Queen Maebh’s Bull and a ticket to a major international agricultural conference or event. Our 2022 Scholars will be the first to compete for the Nuffield Ireland Padraig Walshe Award. This award will honour Padraig’s memory and legacy into the future,” he said.

Matt O’Keeffe and Matt Ryan, two friends of the late Mr Walshe discussed his legacy at the event. They spoke of a life dedicated to leadership and service to agriculture and his fellow farmers.

The award was presented to Cavan native and 2022 scholar Lance Woods. A Ruminant Marketing Manager with MSD Animal Health. His topic explored how animal health can positively impact our climate change targets. Through his studies, Nuffield says Mr Woods investigated how emissions could be reduced by ensuring good animal health while exploring how farmers can change behaviours at farm level to achieve this. Nuffield say the findings highlight that emissions cand be reduced if farmers embrace animal health and husbandry technologies.

The award will be given annually to the best presentation by a returning scholar, as voted on by the conference attendees.
Following in the footsteps of his countyman Padraig Walshe, John Keane, a dairy and beef farmer from Errill, also attended the event to officialy accept his scholarship. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Pictured is John Keane speaking at the conference. Pic: Finbarr O'Rourke

A graduate of University College Dublin with a BSc in Dairy Business in 2014, Mr Keane only recently completed his term as the President of Macra na Feirme.

His scholarship will see him investigating routes to the eradication of Bovine TB here in Ireland.

Nuffield says his passion for the eradication of the disease comes from firsthand experience, along with seeing the impact the disease has on farmers and their families whilst being Macra na Feirme's National President.

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He has previously travelled to New Zealand to work in agriculture and broaden his experiences. Since returning home to full-time farming in 2016, John has been an active member of discussion groups, Macra na Feirme, and his local GAA club.
Nuffield says its farming scholarship is a leadership development programme, in which scholars who demonstrate potential are given a bursary to travel, research and present a report on their chosen topic.

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Nuffield Ireland says its mission is to discover, inspire and support people to develop their capacity, character and confidence to promote positive change and world-class leadership in agriculture, food and farming.