DEAR EDITOR

I previously voted in favour of co-op ownership and had a letter in your paper to that effect. This new spin-out is very worrying to me as these PLC shares are the farmers’ assets.

I sat on a board for many years representing farmers and we have a conflict of interest while doing so. We are elected by farmers but must represent the co-op interest first and I feel this is laid too bare in this vote where the co-op is being put first. Farmers own the PLC shares being spun out, just like the land we farm, yet by voting for the spin out, we are giving up ownership of a vast amount of PLC shares for no value to us. This is wrong. This vote, if passed, will take many shares from us and will cost each farmer tens of thousands of euros and we will lose out on any more spin outs in the future.

They want us to vote to bring our ownership below 17%. How much below? 0% is below 17% - is that their intention?

We have been told for years how good Glanbia PLC is - now they tell us we need to own less of it. But this is a great company and if it went into private ownership in the morning, then this spin out could cost each farmer many tens of thousands of euros by voting this through.

The board wants to cash in our PLC shares and put a vehicle in place to invest outside of farming.

Farmers have come across vehicles like these before. Investment tents, advice to section off part of our farms, Anglo Irish Bank shares, foreign property, to mention a few and the vast majority had one thing in common and that was we, the investors, lost loads of money. We were advised to invest outside of farming.

The co-op is going to make the same mistake, when it would be better for every farmer young and old to invest in agriculture going forward and learn from past mistakes and not to repeat them.

I see grave dangers ahead in this vote for farmers and I for one will be voting against, and would advise other farmers to do the same.