For the last number of months, the team at Irish Country Living has been working on refreshing the design of the weekly product and the re-design was launched last week.

As much as the look of the publication must be right, what’s even more important is that the content is reflective of the issues affecting families in rural Ireland – both positive and negative. Ciara and the team are always open to more feedback, so don’t hold back.

Bravery

The ladies that spoke up with bravery from the 600 or so audience at the Women & Agriculture conference last week deserve to be heard.

Some issues are specific to women – recognition in the eyes of the State, while others are applicable to everyone – recognition of the role of carers.

Each issue deserves a resolution. Irish Country Living needs to campaign, own and fight for issues like this, but it can only do this with your support and engagement. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch to highlight your local issues.

The real award for public bravery however must go to Cork’s Ann Moore as she detailed her lifelong trauma following childhood sexual abuse.

At the very least, we owe her a debt of gratitude for making us more aware of looking after those in our care.

Farmers set to feed AD plants

This week, Stephen Robb details more on one of the companies ‘CycleØ’ looking to establish a foothold in the Irish market for Anaerobic Digestion (AD). Elsewhere in the paper, we hear of CycleØ’s desire to lease or buy land.

Stranglehold

At this stage it is clear that big business is taking a stranglehold of the Irish AD market and Irish co-ops or groupings of Irish farmers are not going to establish an ownership piece on AD in Ireland. On the outside looking in, it looks like those farm businesses with an abundance of nutrients and limited spread lands will work with these operators.

How these farmers are to be paid or contract details for slurry or crops that are crucial to the very existence of these AD businesses remains unknown. It’s hard to gauge the merits of any contract without real numbers.