Paddy O’Kelly from Co Limerick and James O’Flaherty from Castleisland, Co Kerry, will join the National Dairy Council’s (NDC) farmer ambassador programme.

The current group 15 farmer ambassadors act as advocates and spokespeople for Ireland’s family farm-based, grass-fed dairy production system.

Paddy O’Kelly from Broadford, Co Limerick, went to agricultural college in Pallaskenry, then spent three years with the farm apprenticeship board working in farms in Kerry and Cork, after which he spent a year traveling and working on farms in New Zealand and Australia.

He returned home in 1999 and took over the home farm. Paddy is the seventh generation on this family farm. His father is 89 and is still very much involved.

James O’Flaherty farms on his family farm in Castleisland. They have farmed here since 1850 and he is the seventh generation.

James O’Flaherty farms on his family farm in Castleisland. They have farmed here since 1850 and he is the seventh generation.

The farm went from dairying to a drystock and suckler enterprise, before deciding to go back to dairy in 2019. James and his father made the decision to go down the robotic route and installed a milking robot.

Clear voice

Farm advocacy manager at NDC Majella McCafferty said: “They say that if you’re having to explain, then you’ve lost, and, sadly, that’s where we are.

"What we need is a clear voice, championing our industry with positive stories about the reality of life on the farm, the effective measures being undertaken to address the environmental challenges, the people that make dairy happen and the future that they want to have.

"We now have that voice and our role is to provide the platforms that they need to tell their stories, so that the general public can feel better connected to the production system that puts top-quality Irish dairy in the chiller cabinet.”

The farmer ambassadors are promoted via social media, in NDC media relations activity and directly to digital, print and broadcast media who may require a dairy industry spokesperson to talk about Irish dairy from an informed point of view.

They are regionally spread throughout the country and available for interview on a broad level of subjects.