Irish Farmers' Association (IFA)

Background

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA)¹ is Ireland’s largest farming representative organisation and its most active lobbyist on agriculture, food and the environment.²

A successor to the National Farmers Association (NFA),³ the IFA was established in 1971 “to improve farm incomes and address issues across the entire spectrum of food production, constantly adapting to a rapidly changing economic and political environment”.⁴

The IFA claims to represent 72,000 farmers from all types and sizes of farms, with members organised in 947 branches and 29 county executives across Ireland.⁵

The IFA’s head office is based at the Irish Farm Centre in Bluebell, Dublin.⁶ The centre is also home to the Irish Farmers Journal,⁷ a weekly farming newspaper and website claiming 400,000 weekly readers, and Agri Aware,⁸ a private charitable trust linked to the IFA and funded by the Irish farming and agri-food industry.

The IFA has been criticised for frequently opposing or delaying climate legislation in Ireland where the livestock sector accounts for 38 percent of national GHG emissions.⁹

For example, the IFA lobbied against the 2011 Climate Bill¹⁰ and opposed agricultural emission targets in 2015.¹¹ The IFA was also accused of demonstrating a lack of balance in climate action conference presentations in 2018,¹² and campaigning to reduce the agriculture sector’s emissions target in 2022.¹³

In September 2024, the IFA was among six groups that launched a coordinated lobbying push to retain the country’s derogation from the EU Nitrates Directive,¹⁴ which aims to limit the livestock sector’s emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas nitrous oxide, and water pollution.¹⁵ (For more detail, see DeSmog’s background note on the EU Nitrates Directive).

Funding of Agri Aware

The IFA co-founded Agri Aware, a private charitable trust that describes itself as “an independent body to provide the general public with information and education on the importance of agriculture and food to the Irish economy”.¹⁶ Agri Aware lists IFA as a patron (funder) on its website.¹⁷

Agri Aware’s 2022 annual report claims the trust has “a large impact” via schools programmes, online, and in-person events. It reports a direct audience of 40,000 on its social media platforms, 570,000 exhibit attendees, and over four million views for a multimedia campaign.¹⁸ The initiative also runs “Open Farm” and “Walk and Talk” events for the public, which in 2024 attracted thousands of students and visitors.

In 2020, DeSmog reported that workbooks produced by Agri Aware and distributed to over 3,000 primary schools had misrepresented the climate impacts of raising cattle and sheep. Professor John Sweeney, a climatologist at Maynooth University, told DeSmog “the simplistic and one-sided language in this publication presents a misleading educational message” that underplays methane emissions from livestock and suggests trees cancel them out.¹⁹

In 2016, Agri Aware received European Commission funding for the fourth consecutive year to provide agri-education communicating the EU subsidy Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).²⁰ The same year, Agri Aware “secured agreement from government to update the Agricultural Science syllabus for leaving certificate students” according to a press release announcing its outgoing CEO’s new position as the director of communications for agricultural feed technology company Devenish.²¹

Agri Aware has run numerous campaigns, many of which promote meat and dairy, such as the “Pasture to Plate” programme.²² In 2015, Agri Aware ran an “education campaign focused on the importance of the dairy industry and the role of dairy as part of a balanced diet”,²³ which was co-funded by the National Dairy Council.²⁴

The IFA also part-funds the National Dairy Council (NDC), alongside a number of dairy companies and farm organisations. As of August 2024, two IFA committee members, Keith O’Boyle and Stephen Arthur, also sit on the NDC board.²⁵

The IFA 2023 annual report notes that the IFA’s central executive agreed that its Fresh Milk Producers (FM) committee would “invest in liquid milk’s promotion” by working with the NDC.²⁶ This includes a partnership with rugby player Gary Ringrose, who as a paid NDC ambassador has promoted the benefits of “Nature’s sport’s drink” through adverts and a TV series.

The NDC developed a “Moo Crew” programme, also supported by the Department of Agriculture with EU funding from 2020. In partnership with Agri Aware, the programme issued posters, booklets and other materials that directed teachers to “ask pupils to think of new ways they can incorporate milk, yoghurt and cheese into their diets”.²⁷

In two separate cases, in December 2023²⁸ and June 2024,²⁹ the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland ordered the National Dairy Council (NDC) to take down TV advertisements, upholding complaints that they were misleading.³⁰ The complaints objected to the use of greenwashing language and outdated research, which failed to acknowledge the increase in negative impacts on climate, water and biodiversity impacts due to Irish dairy farming.

Stance on Climate Change

In January 2024, new IFA president Francie Gorman described Irish farmers as the “unsung heroes of climate action and biodiversity.”³¹

The Irish livestock sector accounts for 38 percent of national GHG emissions and 99 percent of ammonia air pollution, while nitrate and phosphate nutrient losses from the livestock sector are the largest contributor to water body pollution.³² (For more detail, see DeSmog’s background note Climate, air and water pollution from intensive agriculture).

Over the past decade, the IFA has frequently cited technology innovation and efficiency improvement as methods for reducing the agriculture sector’s climate impact.³³

However, in 2021 the European Court of Auditors presented evidence that efficiency measures had so far failed to cut emissions. It stated that due to its growing livestock herd, Ireland had “seen substantial emissions increases”.³⁴

In a December 2022 blog post, then-IFA President Tim Cullinan responded to the Irish government’s Climate Action Plan, saying that further engagement was needed with farmers “to ensure we can reduce emissions while developing our sector.”³⁵

Cullinan argued that the debate around climate policy had become “unnecessarily divisive with far too much focus on cattle numbers”, adding: “The focus must be on reducing emissions, not on reducing cattle numbers.”

The IFA frequently emphasises the sustainability of Irish farmers and farming. In May 2021, “in response to media commentary around agriculture”³⁶ the IFA published a document, titled “Irish Farming – its Green Credentials” claiming that:³⁷

“Irish farmers understand that they have a unique role to play in meeting the climate change challenge, however, this must be done in a fair and balanced way. In dealing with the climate change challenge, it is imperative that Irish farmers’ current sustainability credentials are fully acknowledged.”

The IFA’s “Green Credentials” document also stated that “Irish dairy and beef output is extremely efficient from a carbon footprint perspective”, emphasising the ability of agriculture to sequester carbon in soil, and pointing to the relatively low amount of energy used in Ireland’s largely grass-based farming.

However, agriculture’s ability to sequester carbon on a timescale long enough to address climate change has been refuted by academic research.³⁸

Other studies suggests Irish beef and milk production is not particularly carbon efficient when compared to other EU nations. A 2011 peer-reviewed study found Ireland’s beef carbon footprint to be substantially higher than the EU average,³⁹ while results calculated⁴⁰ using the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s GLEAM methodology showed Irish emissions to be some of the highest in Europe.⁴¹

The IFA document also suggested that “methane emissions from our livestock and dairy sectors, which are biogenic in nature, merit differentiated treatment with regard to climate change [relative to fossil methane]”. IFA also noted that Ireland’s 2021 Climate Action & Low Carbon Development Bill “recognises the distinct characteristics of biogenic methane”, due to “strong engagement” from the IFA.

However, research reviewing the most recent IPCC scientific assessment found that, apart from “relatively minor accounting differences”, cutting methane emissions from agriculture is just as important as cutting methane from fossil fuel sources in national climate action consistent with meeting the Paris Agreement temperature goal.⁴²

There is a well-established body of climate research stating that “limiting climate change will require substantial and sustained reductions of all greenhouse gas emissions”,⁴³ including methane. Irish dairy expansion since 2010 has instead increased agricultural methane emissions.⁴⁴

Key Actions

September 2024

The IFA was among six agricultural groups to issue a statement⁴⁵ and associated document ⁴⁶ on September 16 campaigning against the removal of Ireland’s Nitrates derogation, which allows selected farmers to spread more nitrates than is normally allowed under EU law, subject to specific environmental checks.

The statement – which was also supported by Dairy Industry Ireland (DII), Meat Industry Ireland (MII), the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS), and Macra – warned of “widespread negative economic consequences for Ireland’s rural economy”.

It did not appear to address concerns about the negative impact on water and air from nitrate and phosphate losses from Ireland’s livestock sector, which are the largest contributor to water body pollution.⁴⁷ Ireland is just one of just five EU member states to have recently held derogations from the directive. (For more detail, see DeSmog’s background note on the EU Nitrates Directive).

January to February, 2024

Farmers in Ireland expressed solidarity with a wave of protests held across the EU in early 2024. The demonstrations were motivated by a range of factors, from low prices at the farmgate, fuel taxes and proposed green reforms, which aimed to limit pesticide and fertiliser use, and protect biodiversity.⁴⁸

The IFA voiced its support for the protests, noting in a February 1 press release that “Irish Farmers are showing solidarity with farmers across Europe this evening”. Francie Gorman was quoted saying: “There is mounting frustration about the impact of EU policy on European farmers, and its implementation here in Ireland. The general feeling amongst farmers across the EU is that ‘enough is enough’”.⁴⁹

RTÉ, Ireland’s state broadcaster, reported that “Irish farmers flexed their political muscles” and that political concessions were being made across Europe in response to farmers’ protests.⁵⁰

In Ireland, RTÉ notes that farmers had staged protests around the country: “Led by the Irish Farmers’ Association, the thousands who took part brought their tractorcades into places from Cork city to Letterkenny, and from Galway city to rural Co Dublin.”

August 2023

The IFA complained about an August 28, 2023 post on X by Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that suggested reducing red meat consumption could make consumers “healthier, wealthier, and more fabulous”.⁵¹ The post also recommended reducing food waste, cutting meat intake over time, and trying out vegetarian recipes.

The IFA told the EPA that the post had caused “considerable anger amongst farmers who feel it goes beyond the remit of the EPA and is not consistent with Government dietary guidelines.””

After the IFA made a formal complaint, the EPA deleted the post and agreed to meet with the group.⁵²

Friends of the Earth Ireland’s chief executive Oisín Coghlan said that the EPA’s retraction could have a “disastrous chilling effect”.

“The State and state agencies have the right to tell us how we can reduce pollution, emissions, and promote health,” he said. “The EPA needs to stand up for basic science, especially with the scale of the challenges we face.”⁵³

February 2023

The release of a draft EPA report on future land use and forestry options sparked strong criticism from farming organizations – including the IFA and Irish Cattle and Sheep Association – which was then amplified by members of parliament representing rural constituencies.⁵⁴

The published “Land Use Review” report identified alternative future land use scenarios in relation to climate action and biodiversity that included scenarios for a 30 per cent decrease in cattle and sheep numbers.⁵⁵

Then-IFA President Tim Cullinan said that there would “be an uprising in rural Ireland if the Government were to do anything like this”, adding:⁵⁶

“IFA recognises the climate challenge, and our members are keen to play their part. However, it will not be at the expense of their livelihoods. This Government and subsequent Governments must be under no illusion that if the recommendations contained within this report were enacted, rural Ireland would revolt.”

2022

Food Vision stakeholder group reports

In response to EPA reporting showing increasing negative climate and pollution impacts from livestock farming, the Minister of Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, established separate “Food Vision” stakeholder groups – for dairy, livestock, and arable (known as “tillage” in Ireland) – to consider how best to reduce the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient pollution.⁵⁷

The dairy Food Vision group’s final report, published on October 25, stated that the IFA had not endorsed its proposals, which included a plan to reduce chemical nitrogen use in the dairy sector by 2025 and more by 2030, and a voluntary exit/reduction scheme to reduce dairy herd numbers.⁵⁸

The final report for the Beef and Sheep groups, published on November 30, stated that the IFA would not support the report’s mitigation proposals, stating: “the IFA is not supportive of measures which will result in a reduction in output”, unless additional funding was supplied “to support the economic viability of the suckler [beef cattle] sector”.⁵⁹

2021-2022

The IFA lobbied to weaken targets contained in the July 2021 amended Climate Act, which stipulated that Ireland’s parliament (the Oireachtas) must set legally binding five-year carbon budgets to direct climate action, and noted that the Government would then set out constituent “sectoral emission ceilings” for different economic sectors, including agriculture.⁶⁰

(“Sectoral emission ceilings” are a term for the maximum tonnes of CO2 equivalent gases (CO2e) that can be emitted over a five year period by agriculture and different sectors of the economy as laid out by the Irish government’s legally binding carbon budgets.)⁶¹

The Government’s Climate Action Plan had initially suggested a range for agriculture emission reductions of 22 – 30 percent by 2030, in response to the amended Climate Act in November 2021.⁶²

In July 2022, the IFA demanded that the Minister of Agriculture “must push back on any attempt to introduce a sectoral emission ceiling above 22%”. The group criticised a 30 percent reduction goal, saying it “would result in significantly reduced production” and “an increase in global emissions, as production will move to other countries with weaker climate policies”.⁶³

Then-IFA President Tim Cullinan argued that farmers were being asked to bear a disproportionate burden of climate action, in a July 11 op-ed for The Irish Times. He also claimed “Emissions from biogenic sources such as cattle are part of the biological recycling of carbon and do not contribute to increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere,”

Researchers at Dublin City University critiqued Cullinan’s arguments as “misleading”, in The Irish Times. They stated that Cullinan had used “flawed premises” to support the notion that farmers were being unfairly treated.⁶⁴

The researchers also critique Cullinan’s “recommended ‘alternative method of measuring the global warming potential’” of methane, a controversial metric called GWP*, which can be used to downplay the impact of livestock emissions.

When on July 28, the Government landed on the lower target of a 25 percent reduction by 2030 (relative to 2018 emissions) for agriculture within the agreed legally binding five-year carbon budgets for 2021–2025 and 2026–2030, Cullinan still argued that the target was “a potentially devastating blow for Irish farming and the rural economy” on the IFA website,⁶⁵ and denied that farmers were “getting off lightly” in comparison to other sectors.⁶⁶

By contrast, Marie Donnelly, chair of Ireland’s Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) described the Government’s Sectoral Emission Ceilings decision as “problematic”.

According to Donelly’s statement the emissions ceilings also did not meet the requirements of the amended Climate Act, being insufficient to meet the carbon budgets to 2030 agreed by the Oireachtas, and excluding five-year emissions ceilings for the Land Use Sector.⁶⁷

April 4, 2019

Then-IFA president Joe Healy accused environmental charity An Taisce of “crossing the line by including dietary advice” in a resource pack provided to schools that included a reference to balancing diets to include more vegetarian food.⁶⁸

Healy said: “This is beyond the remit of An Taisce and it [is] not consistent with dietary advice given by the Department of Health, the competent authority, on balanced diets.”

The Irish creamery group the ICMSA supported the IFA’s accusation against An Taisce, concluding that the document “must be withdrawn immediately”.⁶⁹

An Taisce described the criticism as a “hysterical reaction.⁷⁰ An Taisce also quoted the Minister for Climate Action’s defence of the information pack, which was produced by the publicly funded Green Schools initiative, as a positive resource “to stimulate a discussion in the classroom”, rather than something the charity “recommended to be adopted”.

July 2019

The IFA’s national livestock chairman Angus Woods strongly rejected policy scenarios published by Ireland’s independent Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC), which explored ways to help the country cut its agricultural emissions by cutting cattle numbers.

The scenarios estimated the impact of cutting the number of beef suckler cows in the national herd by 15, 30, or 53 percent by 2030 relative to 2018 emissions, while keeping dairy cow numbers at the 2018 level.⁷¹

Woods said the proposals were “unacceptable, lazy and flawed”, adding: “It is totally wrong and unfair of the CCAC to try and push all of the weight of climate change on top of the suckler cow herd. The Council ignores the hard work of suckler farmers in addressing climate change.”⁷²

In 2022 beef cattle emitted around half of Ireland’s agricultural methane according to inventory data from Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).⁷³

April 2018

In April 2018 Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly report on climate change made two recommendations directly relevant to dairy and livestock production.⁷⁴

Following engagement with experts including agriculture specialists, the assembly’s randomly chosen Irish citizens endorsed a tax on greenhouse gases emitted by farms and “rewards for the farmer for land management that sequesters carbon”.

It also called on the government to “review and revise supports for land use diversification with attention to support for planting forests and encouraging organic farming”.

In an IFA press release commenting on the report, IFA then-president Joe Healy approved of Citizens’ Assembly points that would require greater government support for farmers, but he described the Assembly’s carbon tax proposal as a “no go”.

Healy also “called on all stakeholders to move on from the often divisive and unrealistic calls for Irish farmers to reduce their emission efficient model of dairy and beef production.”⁷⁵

According to a March 2024 paper, which surveyed more than 200 environmental and agricultural scientists, global emissions from meat and dairy production need to decline by 50 percent during the next six years, with “high-producing and consuming nations” taking the lead, to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement.⁷⁶

April 1, 2017

In a press release for the IFA, then-environment chairman Thomas Cooney accused environmental NGOs of a “continuous campaign of undermining the agri-food sector”.⁷⁷

“These organisations have loads of data, but very little wisdom,” Cooney said. “They sit in judgement and criticism of the sustainable development of the agri-food sector, but provide absolutely no alternative coherent vision or plan for the sector.”

He continued: “No other country in the world measures, manages and monitors carbon from farm to fork like we do in Ireland.”

A 2021 analysis by the European Court of Auditors,⁷⁸ as reported by the Irish Times,⁷⁹ found that “Ireland was one of just three EU member states to record an increase in greenhouse gas emissions from livestock over the past seven years and is one of the highest emitters per hectare of agricultural land”.

September 30, 2016

In the trade publication Agriland, Seán Cummins reported that former Taoiseach (prime minister) Mary Robinson was “under fire” for recent comments on meat consumption. Cummins noted that the IFA had also criticised Robinson for her suggestion of eating less meat in response to climate change.⁸⁰

July 2016

Then-IFA President Joe Healy spoke at the MacGill Summer School 2016 during a session titled, “Are we facing up to the challenge of climate change?”⁸¹

Healy said that the agriculture sector had an “obligation in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions”. In his speech, he also argued that focusing on improving the emissions intensity of meat and dairy production (the emissions per kg of milk or meat produced) was “the most appropriate climate barometer for agriculture”.

In 2023, analysis from state agriculture research agency Teagasc, found that measures to increase efficiency had also increased productivity, resulting in a very large “backfire” rebound effect that had substantially increased dairy emissions.⁸²

Funding

The IFA’s primary source of income is from annual membership fees amounting to €10.3 million, according to financial statements for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. It does not receive grants from the Irish government.

The IFA’s listed major annual expenditures are for staff (€5.8 million) and IFA Telecom staff and expenses (€5.4 million).⁸³ IFA Telecom is a telecommunications, broadband, and phone services business operated by IFA that generated €5.5 million in revenues between March 2022 and March 2023.

Lobbying

The IFA is one of the most active lobby groups in Ireland, submitting annual returns for around 200 meetings, letters and other interactions on agriculture, environment, and land use issues.⁸⁴

A Lobbying.ie search on the official register of lobbying records for agriculture, food and environmental lobbying, for January 1, 2015 to August 6, 2024, shows that the IFA is Ireland’s most active lobbyist in this area.⁸⁵ A total of 8,148 lobbying such returns were recorded, of which IFA’s 1,748 (21 percent of the total) is highest of any single lobbying organization).

The lobbying dwarfs that of environmental groups. This Lobbying.ie search shows that the top 20 lobbying organizations submitted 68 percent of the 8,148 returns: agri-food farmer and business organisations submitted 54 percent of the total returns, while environmental groups submitted just 14 percent.

According to LobbyFacts.eu, the IFA employed the equivalent of four full time lobbyists to lobby in the EU, spending €350,000 on lobbying in 2018⁸⁶ and €400,000 – €499,999 in 2021.⁸⁷

The IFA’s 2022-2023 annual report states expenditure of €535,000 for the year to March 2023, to maintain its office in Brussels for lobbying in the EU.⁸⁸

The IFA’s political influence has greatly increased since disputes arose between its precursor, the National Farmers Association (NFA), and the Irish government in the late 1960s and early 1970s.⁸⁹

According to research published in 2020 by Declan Fahy, an associate professor in at Dublin City University’s School of Communications, Irish farmers and their representative organisations, including the IFA and Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, have “wielded great political influence” on the agricultural policies of successive governments through their lobbying efforts.⁹⁰

2022-23 EU Industrial Emission Directive Revision

IFA played a key role in a lobby campaign that successfully got cattle farms excluded from the EU Industrial Emissions Directive.

In early 2022, a European Commission proposal for revision of the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) advocated for the inclusion of all farms with over 150 “livestock units” – equivalent to 150 adult cows, 375 calves, 10,000 laying hens, 500 pigs, or 300 sows.⁹¹

IFA president Tim Cullinan said in a March 2023 press release that the proposals were “driven by ideology, not science, and it’s the ‘thin end of the wedge’ to force a costly licensing regime on farming”, adding that Ireland’s pasture-based system and farms were “already heavily regulated”.⁹² “COPA, the European farm organisation, of which I am the Vice President, and IFA have been running a strong campaign at EU level to protect family farms since the proposals first appeared last year,” he said.

After an EU trilogue (a final pre-decision meeting of the major EU institutions) at the end of 2023, the EU agreed to exclude cattle farms entirely from the IED, and to define industrial farm thresholds for pigs and poultry.⁹³

The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) criticised the new IED, saying it “maintains protection for the polluting status quo”.⁹⁴

2010 Climate Bill

The IFA carried out⁹⁵ “intensive lobbying” against the Irish Government’s 2010 Climate Change Response Bill and strongly opposed⁹⁶ it, alongside two other prominent lobby groups – the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, and Ibec, Ireland’s largest business group representing agri-food and other trade groups, which claimed that the law would “damage business”.

A 2010 IFA press release strongly criticised the bill – Ireland’s first-ever parliamentary attempt to enact a climate change bill – as “hastily-introduced climate change legislation [that] will be very damaging to the role that the agri-food and other sectors can play in Ireland’s economic recovery”.⁹⁷

The IFA also asserted that Ireland had a “sustainable model of farming”, that a “flawed method” was used to calculate both carbon emissions and sinks, and that “it is ludicrous that Ireland could introduce emission reduction targets way in excess of those proposed by other countries”.

By February 2011, the bill had been dropped due to opposition from business organisations and the agri-food sector, as well as the economic and political crises underway at the time.⁹⁸

Media and communications

On its website, the IFA archives its press releases and campaign updates, which are often referenced in Ireland’s leading national and trade media.⁹⁹

Two media-related entities are based in the same building as the IFA’s head office. One is Agri Aware, an industry-funded co-founded by the IFA that produces promotional information targeted at primary schools and the public.¹⁰⁰

The second is Irish Farmers Journal,¹⁰¹ a weekly farming newspaper and website that claims to have 400,000 weekly readers. The IFJ is owned and published by the Agricultural Trust.¹⁰² The Agricultural Trust board always includes the sitting IFA president as an ex officio member.¹⁰³

The IFA, was a main organiser of the “Meat and Dairy Facts” initiative, which was was set up in 2019 with the initial assistance of Red Flag Consulting, along with Bord Bia, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA), Dairy Industry Ireland (DII), Meat Industry Ireland (MII), and the National Dairy Council (NDC).¹⁰⁴

The IFA website identifies the Meat and Dairy Facts initiative as an “IFA campaign”.¹⁰⁵ A number of IFA blog posts published between May 2018 and February 2022 also note the affiliation, and largely express support for the dietary and sustainability credentials of meat and dairy.

One of these blog posts objects to the “refusal of the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) to adjudicate on IFA’s complaint about adverts taken out by the Go Vegan movement”, which was lodged “on the basis that the adverts gave misleading information about climate change”.¹⁰⁶

The IFA’s dairy committee has been strongly supportive of the National Dairy Council, which is a private, farmer-funded group promoting dairy production and consumption. In a May 2021 blog post, IFA’s dairy committee chair Stephen Arthur said: “There is a growing disconnect between farmers and consumers of dairy. We as farmers need to demonstrate and reassure consumers that Irish dairy is not only nutritious but also environmentally sustainable.”¹⁰⁷

He continued: “We need a united voice through the NDC to cut through all the hype and demonstrate that dairy farmers are global leaders when it comes to producing milk efficiently”.

By contrast, key reports produced by Ireland’s environmental NGO sector such as “Not So Green” in 2016,¹⁰⁸ and “Towards a New Agricultural and Food Policy for Ireland” in 2021, express concerns for the future of farmers and food production in Ireland.¹⁰⁹

Affiliations

The IFA has a permanent office in Brussels for its European lobbying.¹¹⁰ It is a member of the industrial agriculture EU lobby group COPA-COGECA.¹¹¹

Former IFA president Tim Cullinan was elected as a COPA vice president and spokesperson¹¹² in 2020¹¹³ and 2022.¹¹⁴

The IFA is also a member of the World Farmers’ Organisation.¹¹⁵

The IFA is a member of Animal Health Ireland, alongside government and state agencies, farm representative organisations, milk and meat processors, advisory support services, and artificial insemination companies.

1
“Home,” Irish Farmers’ Association. Archived February 13, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/cRvkr
2
“Search: Return submit date: From 01 Jan 2015; Public Policy Area: Agriculture, Food, Environment,” Lobbying.ie website, search August 6, 2024. Archived August 6, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/XBCte [Total such lobbying returns 8148 of which IFA’s 1748 is highest].
3
Gibbons, A.M. “Farmers on the Move : The Strategic Mobilisation of the Farming Lobby in 1960s Ireland”, University College Dublin, 2010. Archived February 29, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
4
“Our History,” Irish Farmers’ Association. Archived February 16, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/5gaZP
5
Tim Cullinan. “Opening Statement by IFA President Tim Cullinan to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food & the Marine on the Crisis in the Sheep Sector 8th March 2023,” Oireachtas, March 8, 2023. Archived March 14, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/w2xzp
6
“Our Structure & Constitution.” Irish Farmers’ Association. 2024. Archived February 25, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/55JUg
7
“Contact us – Farmers Journal,” Irish Farmers Journal. Archived July 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/AzWaP
8
“About us,” Agri Aware. Archived January 21, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/G1zqX
9
“Ireland’s Provisional Greenhouse Gas Emissions 1990-2023 [landing page].” EPA. July 2024. Archived July 9, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kf3rB
10
John Gibbons. “Denial and self-interested delusion on Climate Bill.” ThinkOrSwim (the Climatechange.ie Blog) Archived June 30, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DkhSn
11
Wagner, P. and Ylä-Anttila, T. “Who got their way? Advocacy coalitions and the Irish climate change law.” Environmental Politics 27, 872–891, 2018. Archived August 8, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5y1Nb
12
“Beware of ‘balance claims in agri debate,” An Taisce, January 20, 2020. Archived March 22, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/xq5wn
13
Aisling O’Brien. “Claim 30% emissions target could “devastate” agriculture sector,” Agriland.ie. June 11, 2022. Archived June 11, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.is/HoASi
14
“Retaining Ireland’s Nitrates Derogation – Common Objectives – A Joint Declaration from Farm Organisations, Co-operatives and the Dairy and Meat Processors,” Irish Farmers Association, September 16, 2024. Archived September 18, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wJpIQ
15
“Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed),” Joint Committee on Agriculture, 29 May 2024. Archived June 20, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/RZNCn
16
“About us,” Agri Aware. Archived January 21, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/G1zqX
17
“Agri Aware Patrons,” Agri Aware. Archived September 24, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/zi76h
18
“2022 Annual Report.” Agri Aware, 2023. Archived February 29, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/dIfPM
19
John Gibbons. “How Big Ag is Influencing What Irish Students Learn About Climate Change,” DeSmog, December 12, 2020.
20
Paul Mooney. “Agri Aware wins EU funding,” Irish Farmers Journal, May 4, 2016. Archived August 15, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/S0pD7
21
“Agri Aware CEO to join Devenish as Director of Communication,” Devenish, May 12, 2016. Archived August 15, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.is/p4QVX
22
“Pasture to Plate,” Agri Aware. Archived August 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.is/KxCxW
23
“Welcome to Agri Aware.” Agri Aware. August, 2024. Archived August 2, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ASAhX
24
Joe Dermody. “Dairy Week to focus on health and nutrition” Irish Examiner, April 15, 2015. Archived February 13, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/OhTZ5
25
“Our Board.” National Dairy Council, August, 2024. Archived August 7, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/GsPAf
26
“Annual Report and Review of 2023,” Irish Farmers Association, 2024. Archived February 29, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ti8ea
27
John Gibbons. “How Big Ag is Influencing What Irish Students Learn About Climate Change,” DeSmog, December 12, 2020.
28
Colman O’Sullivan. “ASAI upholds complaint about claim in dairy council ad,” RTÉ, December 24, 2023. Archived December 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/rnEgz
29
Rachel Donovan. “Advertising watchdog orders NDC to remove TV advert,” Irish Farmers Journal, July 4, 2024. Archived July 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/UVVzR
30
Louise Hickey, “Advertising authority orders removal of NDC advert,” Agriland, July 5, 2024. Archived July 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1tmfX
31
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