The growth of a negative perception of farming is probably the number one threat to the industry, dairy farmer and Kildare IFA chair Brian Rushe told last week’s Lismullin farming conference.

“Food now for millennials is a massive choice for people. People want more information about where their food is coming from, how it’s being produced, who is producing it and how it’s marketed. If we don’t provide that information to the public, someone else will and that someone will give them their own agenda and that’s where we’re seeing the growth, let’s say, in veganism.”

He said the dairy industry, particularly in New Zealand, is viewed very negatively and ‘dirty dairy’ is a tag there which Ireland “must avoid at all costs”.

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