Macra will have the honour of hosting a CEJA-Macra seminar in the Castleknock Hotel, Dublin, from 24 to 26 January.

In CEJA’s own words, it is the “voice of Europe’s next generation of farmers to the European institutions”.

CEJA collectively represents around two million young farmers. Its membership spans across 22 EU member states and 33 national member organisations.

Macra is not only a member of CEJA – past president Thomas Duffy is also vice-president of the umbrella group.

In the times of uncertainty that we are all facing into, it was never as important as it is now to have a unified, single voice going to Europe.

CEJA is one such voice that we influence and shape to best represent the needs of young farmers and support generational renewal.

Macra last hosted a CEJA event in 2013, and it is only right and fitting that we once again host this prestigious event.

The seminar will be hosted in the Castleknock Hotel. The support and assistance being rendered to Macra by FBD Hotels for this event has to be acknowledged as does the generous sponsorship being given by Tama and Dairymaster.

Without the help of supporters such as the three listed, our ability to bring high-quality events to our members would be seriously hampered.

The seminar is centred on a workshop focusing on smart farmers for smart farming. A policy paper on the topic will be presented by lead vice-presidents Adam Nowak and Doris Letina. There are three main components to this paper:

  • Smart agriculture and new technologies.
  • Education, knowledge and skills.
  • Finance and investment.

    • In addition to the examination and further development of the policy paper, there will also be farm walks organised by Macra.

    Details of the walks have not been released as of yet but, needless to say, the walks will be on farms that use the best methods available.

    Of course, no Macra event would be complete without a social element, so on the evening of 25 January we will host a gala dinner in the Castleknock Hotel.

    This is an event for which we are currently issuing invitations.

    It is through events like this that the information flow is at its greatest and also it is here that we all take away ideas that we can implement on our own farms and organisations.

    By working together in a collaborative manner we are far stronger and more effective than we are working in isolation.