I see that Leinster, Ireland and Lions back row forward Sean O’Brien has turned down a lucrative move to French rugby club Toulon in favour of staying at home.

There had been widespread reports that the “Tullow Tank” was offered a bumper pay deal to move to the south of France before making the decision to stay with Leinster. While there have been rumours floating around as to why the change of heart, I’m reliably informed that his decision wasn’t just based on sport but also on farming. Apparently the price of good grazing land in Toulon put him off the idea.

AIB to expand agri team

It is interesting to see that AIB have advertised three agri-advisor and three agri-specialist positions (graduate level). This adds to their existing dedicated agri team of nine. It is positive to see the bank support the frontline positions as one of Ireland’s leading agri lending institutions. AIB has had an agri-advisory team for three decades and maintained the team despite AIB’s costly misadventures in the property sector.

Albert Heijn switch

I hear that Slaney Foods has recently lost a flagship contract. I understand that the contract was with Dutch retailer, Albert Heijn. Slaney Foods, based outside Bunclody, Co Wexford, slaughters in the region of 7,000 cattle per month and is part of the Northern Ireland based Linden Food Group. There has been significant investment in the plant in recent years and it has strong relationships with a variety of customers.