Pat Murphy, chief executive of Kerry Dairy Ireland and sponsor of the Dairy Women Ireland conference, reminded us about killing a pig on the farm in years gone by. Pat got a day off school for the pig event and his job was to collect the blood.

How things have changed. Now you have to become a registered pig producer for such an event. Not many of the attendees remembered a pig being killed on the farm, because they were much too young. This is certainly a feature of Dairy Women Ireland (DWI): they are young, energetic, talented women, who have chosen to make dairy farming their career.

The day before the event, Tim interrogated me, asking why was I going and was this actually a conference with substance. He also made the point that women can go to any conference from those organised by Teagasc or Positive Farmers and so on. Sitting in the audience, I pondered these questions.

Safe space

DWI obviously felt its needs were not being met by other groups. If you are young, female and farming, it is hard to use your voice in a male-dominated industry. Sometimes lack of confidence can hold you back.

DWI is a safe space for young women, where they are empowered with knowledge and where they perhaps also welcome not being judged by men. The question, “whose wife is she” is not relevant in a room full of women.

What is relevant is how can I become a better dairy farmer? And for some, how can I juggle the roles of motherhood and partnership, and keep the show on the road?

The keynote address was given by Ursula Kelly, managing director of Cormac Tagging. Her story is amazing. She told us of the family’s four-year legal battle with the Department of Agriculture to ensure that farmers had choice when it came to the identification of their animals.

Now she has a wonderful business relationship with the department.

She was open about how the family approached succession and, more importantly, how they managed conflict resolution.

She encouraged women to “back yourself, the fight is worth it. When you win, you win for everyone who believed in you”. Having amassed many awards, it is clear that Cormac Tagging is a success story.

In 2013, Ursula’s second daughter Elena was born with Down Syndrome. She spoke of the shock that she and her husband, Noel, felt and how scared they were of the future.

Elena is a wonderful girl and Ursula says she changed her life, making her a better person. Her address was inspiring, encompassing her personal challenges along with her business acumen. She’s an authentic role model for anyone growing a business and managing it all.

Dr Gillian O’Sullivan, dairy farmer, led a panel discussion on embracing leadership and accessing a career in agriculture. She was joined by Linda O’Neill, Ruth Kerrigan, Anne Marie Ryan and Mary Troy. They are successful dairy farmers and this discussion was fascinating. I’d love to have heard more detail from these women.

Access to a career

When Mary Kingston, president of DWI was growing up in a houseful of older brothers, she knew that she would have to find her own way to be a dairy farmer. She had £4,000 saved at the age of 16, because she knew that she needed to be better than degree level, she needed master’s level.

Getting emotional, Mary said it was 20 years before she finally had the title of dairy farmer. She urged the women in not to be afraid to say “I am a dairy farmer”.

That sums up the reason for DWI to inspire confidence amongst the women that are dairy farming and help them to play their part in this valuable industry.