Plans for a new umbrella body to promote Irish farming and food processing will step up a gear next week, with a two-day gathering of key players in Kildare.

The main dairy and meat processors, as well as industry organisations such as Bord Bia, the National Dairy Council (NDC), Teagasc, the farm organisations and ICOS, are scheduled to meet to progress the Project Connect initiative.

It is understood that the new organisation will have a budget of close to €4.5m, around one-third of which comes from the dairy sector, one-third from meat processors, with the final third coming from tillage, horticulture and the rest of the agricultural industry.

Project Connect aims to engage with the Irish public and counter the negative portrayal of farming and food processing in relation to issues such as climate change, water quality and other environmental challenges. Next week’s two-day event will include meetings, presentations and workshops, with the whole process being chaired by former Department of Agriculture secretary general Tom Moran.

Although some participants have downplayed the significance of next week’s event, the consensus within the industry is that Project Connect has “serious momentum behind it”.

“Once the meat lads togged out, nobody else was going to be left on the sideline,” one participant told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“Next week is about signing everybody up, telling them what Project Connect will look like, what it will do, and how it will co-ordinate all the sectors to deliver a consistent message,” he added.

However, Bord Bia was not as bullish in terms of the likely progress in the short-term.

“The initiative [Project Connect] is still at development stage, with exact funding and operational requirements yet to be agreed between industry partners,” a spokesperson said.

Similarly, a spokesperson for the NDC said progress in the discussions to date was “slow”.

However, the dairy sector advocacy group stated that the “a general agreement in principle” was “a work in progress”, and that discussions were “moving in the right direction”.

NDC levy paid on 70% of Dairygold supply

Seventy per cent of Dairygold’s milk supply is “contributing to the NDC levy”, the Munster-based co-op has confirmed.

However, Dairygold was non-committal on the question of making the NDC levy mandatory for suppliers.

“The Dairygold board and management is keeping its policy on the NDC levy deductions under review,” the co-op said.

Getting all dairy processors to commit to the National Dairy Council (NDC) levy has been a crucial sideshow to the Project Connect initiative, due to the advocacy work the organisation already undertakes on behalf of the industry.

Dairygold and Lakeland Dairies are the two main dairy processors in which the NDC levy is not compulsory.

The levy of 0.07c/l equates to a total of €385 for the average 100-cow farmer supplying 550,000 litres.

Lakeland Dairies was also non-committal when asked its position on the NDC levy.

“As well as our ongoing representation and support of our farm families, Lakeland Dairies is exploring all options to continue supporting the advocacy and promotion of the wider sector,” it said.