10 Things to know about the Rally

Whether you’re a Rally newbie or a veteran, here’s a helpful guide to the Rally this year.

1. Sponsors

Where would we be without a title sponsor!?! Not hosting the coopsuperstores.ie Macra na Feirme Annual Conference, that’s for sure! As well as farming products they also offer a range of DIY & décor, garden, building, clothing, electrical, fuel & heating, household, pet & equine! Thought you could only shop in-store? Awks! They deliver nationwide! Still reading this? Quite frankly we are surprised that you haven’t gone straight to the www.coopsuperstores.ie website! Of course we also have some other sponsors too. Thanks to Red FM who are our media partners for the event. They are helping to ensure we have fantastic entertainment over the weekend, with a DJ (Colm O’Sullivan) on the Friday night & a Roadshow on the Sunday. Then there are the delegate bags sponsors, as well as others. Please support them, the weekend couldn’t happen without them!

2. There’s an Ag Conference

What we now fondly know as the Macra Rally weekend was established as the Agricultural Conference and built from there. It’s a jam packed weekend but at the centre of it is the conference. The theme for this year is “Inspiration for this Generation; taking the next step”. The key goal of this conference is that those attending leave in a positive frame of mind, psyched up and motivated to overcome the challenges facing them in their farming careers. It’s one not to be missed!

3. There’s a lot more than the Ag Conference

If the Ag Conference doesn’t float your non-agricultural boat then fear not there is plenty more on offer over the weekend! The alternative tour includes a medieval walking tour of Cork City & Lee Valley tour including craft activity at Griffins Garden Centre. We’re also organising a downright scary trip to the Nightmare Realm. On the Sunday we will also have a positive mental health seminar with the theme Let’s Talk. This is organised with National Office & we’re really looking forward to hearing the speakers. There is lots more too, for full event details check out our website (www.muskerrymacrarally2015.com)

4. Delegate or Entertainment Pack?

By now you’ll know if you’re going as a Delegate or not. To the lucky delegates congrats! The delegate fairies are working their little cotton socks off to ensure that the goodie bags are worth it! If you’re not going as a delegate then fear not the weekend has a lot to offer. You can still avail of the tours & activities. In order to get best value for your money pick up an Entertainment Pack. This includes entry in each of the 3 nights (excludes Sun Banquet, includes the After Party), at a discount rather than paying for the 3 nights individually. It’s a no brainer if you ask us!

5. Macra Card

We’re sure you never leave home without it but just for those rascals out there who might do just that BRING YOUR MACRA CARD! We’re sorry for the shouting but we think it’s justified in this case. You’ve heard it before & you’ll hear it again, there’s a discount for Macra members. That’s both for the Entertainment Packs & individual entry on each of the nights.

6. Social Media

Put simply we’re fans of social media in Muskerry Macra na Feirme. You can find us on Facebook (Muskerry Rally) but if that’s not enough we’re also on Twitter (@MacraConference). Don’t care for either of those? You can follow us on Snapchat (MuskerryRally15) and even on Instagram (@MuskerryRally15). Want to have a look at a good old fashioned website (nothing wrong with that we say)? Then go to www.muskerrymacrarally2015.com. It has everything you need to know for the weekend, including full event details & price guide. We’re loving hash tags so check out on your social media #RallyInTheLeeValley #coopsuperstores #AgConference #RedFM to name but a few! We’re also app-happy & available to download on Android & iOS (Muskerry Rally). Like us, follow us, share us, add us, look us up, hashtag us & download us to keep up to date with the Rally this year!

7. No such thing as strangers, just friends waiting to happen

There was never a truer word spoken at a Macra event. Everyone is there to enjoy themselves & have a good time. Make the most of the weekend & get to know other Macra members you haven’t met before.

8. Competitions

Not only is there many social aspects to the weekend but there’s also a few competitions taking place. It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase Macra & the talented people in it. There’s the Irish Farmers Journal Know You Ag Quiz, Club of the Year, Best New Member and Bord Bia Beef & Sheep Stock Judging.  If you’re taking part in any of the weekend’s competitions then Best of Luck! If you’re not taking part then your support for the competitors would be greatly appreciated!

9. Clear your calendar

If you know nothing else, know this. It’ll be a good one! Far be it from us to tell you what to do so we’re just making a friendly suggestion. Take the Friday off work/college; you’ll be glad of it for any last minute packing. Take the Tuesday off, you’ll need it to recover after a jam packed weekend!

10. Times are GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) not Macra time!!!

We’ve been a little busy planning what we hope will be a memorable weekend for you. All we need you to do is have fun, take part & BE ON TIME (caps & bold text here – clearly we feel strongly about this one!). The ag tours & conference line up is especially jammers so in order to get the most out of them & best benefit to you please (pretty please) just be on time.

See you all at the Rochestown Park Hotel!!!

Limited spaces to be pre-released on Agricultural Beef & Dairy Tours

Attention Rally non-delegates: Due to phenomenal interest in the agricultural beef & dairy tours at the Rally we are releasing a limited number of spaces for both the beef & dairy tours. These will be available to book online from 7am on 12th October until 11pm on 22nd October. These are to allow people who cannot make the Friday night registration to have access to the tours. Click on the link below to access tour booking.

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/coopsuperstoresie-macra-na-feirme-agricultural-conference-farm-tours-tickets-18932304031

The Agricultural Tours and Conference

The Annual Agricultural Conference is the main event at the Macra na Feirme Rally. This year it is being held in the Riverside Hotel in Macroom which is in the heart of the Muskerry Macra Region. The conference will take place on Saturday the 24^th October at 2pm following farm tours in the morning.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Inspiration for this generation; taking the next step”.

This theme was chosen with the hope of motivating young farmers to make the most of their agricultural careers. The long term outlook for the Irish Agricultural sector is very positive and we want to encourage young farms to take a leading role in the industry. The key goal of this conference is that those attending leave in a positive frame of mind, psyched up and motivated to overcome the challenges facing them in their farming careers.

To this end we will have an engaging discussion amongst a panel of young farmers from various enterprises. We hope to learn from these successful young farmers as they discuss the topics of Land Mobility, the supports and obstacles within CAP, and the personal skills key to a young farmer to deal with these issues. We hope for this discussion to be engaging and interactive with input from the audience.

We are delighted to announce that the European Commissioner for Agriculture; Phil Hogan will be attending the conference. This will be an unmissable opportunity for young farmers to have their voices and concerns heard by the commissioner and also for us to hear the Commissioners outlook on the future development of the Common Agricultural Policy.

The agricultural tours will take place in the morning before the conference. Buses will depart the Rochestown Park Hotel at 9am and will bring attendees to the farms and then onto the Riverside Hotel for lunch and the conference. The beef and dairy tours will each visit two farms and will both have independent facilitators to ensure focussed and worthwhile discussion. There will also be an alternative tour looking at some entrepreneurial agricultural businesses.

The first farm that the dairy tour will visit is that of Michael Bateman. Michael is a very well-known dairy farmer and this is for all the right reasons. He is milking just shy of 500 cows on a 170ha platform near Crookstown, Co. Cork. The herd has been expanding rapidly from 150 cows in 2005. The cows are high EBI, Jersey/Friesian crosses. These cows are doing the business, producing high solids and exhibiting excellent fertility performance. Michael is also an excellent grass manager using a scientific approach to produce 14tonne/DM/ha last year. Impressively, all the winter feed is made on the highly stocked milking platform. The business is focussed on producing a high output off a low cost system with specific low costs in infrastructure. The farm is extremely labour efficient and Michael has an excellent relationship with his dairy staff. Michael is also involved in the industry outside the farm gate being a council member of the Irish Grassland Association. This visit promises to be extremely worthwhile for all young dairy farmers. The second farm on the dairy tour is the farm of Gerard Buckley. Ger is a well-known local farmer milking just shy of 170 cows. The cows are predominantly Holstein Friesian with about 20% crossbreds in the herd. Ger is highly stocked on his 52ha milking platform. He checks his ICBF reports religiously and aims to rapidly improve his herd EBI. Although some cows are fed to yield, Ger does not neglect his grass management and does a grass budget weekly. Ger seeks out the best advice from other farmers in order to aid his decision making and maximise his performance. He has an excellent working relationship with his farm manager Vicky whom he originally hired on the strength that she was said to be “stone daft”. Ger isn’t afraid to try new ideas and is an outside the box thinker. This is evidenced by the fact that Ger and his wife Gret lived in an apartment built over their milking parlour for a number of years. They have also refurbished a number of old houses on the farm. Ger is an extremely savvy operator and his farm is definitely worth the visit. The discussion on his farm promises to be entertaining and worthwhile.

The Dairy tour will be facilitated by Aidan Brennan. Aidan is a dairy specialist with the Irish Farmers Journal and managed research farms in Teagasc, Moorepark for seven years. He also has a degree in Agriculture and a diploma in Economics. Aidan will ensure that the discussion on the day is focused on providing key take home lessons for the audience.

The beef tour will first visit the farm of Niall O’Mahony in Crookstown. Niall purchases and finishes about 550 head of cattle each year. It is predominantly a winter finishing unit as there is also a dairy and tillage enterprise on the farm. He excels at animal husbandry, animal health management and nutrition. He has excellent purchasing skills with a keen eye for quality animals. He also formulates his own feeds using barley produced on the farm. Niall feeds for profit, not for fun. In a nutshell, he is doing the simple things right, keeping his costs low and optimising his output to maximise profit. Outside the farm gate he is the Chairman of Irish Hereford Prime-a producer group of over 2000 members. Irish Hereford Prime helps to market members beef and ensures a continuous supply of high quality suitable cattle for markets. This visit is a must for any aspiring beef farmer. There will also be a factory representative at this farm to discuss specifications and to look at animals which are fit or not fit for slaughter. This will be a good opportunity for young farmers to improve their own skills and to learn about markets.

The second Beef farm on the tour is that of Ger Dineen. Ger is a Teagasc Better Farm participant. He runs a suckler to beef enterprise finishing all his bulls under 16 months and keeping his heifers as replacements and selling surplus replacements for a premium. Ger excels at grassland management, heat detection and the use of genetic indexes. His is a predominantly Simmental Herd using 100% AI. He is farming 31ha and targets >1000euro gross margin/ha. An ICBF representative will be present on this farm to discuss using indexes and physical evaluations of an animal in order to choose the perfect replacement.

The Beef tour will be facilitated by Anthony Dineen who is the local Teagasc advisor. He has a deep knowledge of both farms and the beef industry. Anthony will ensure that attendees gain as much information as possible from both walks and will focus once again on key take home lessons.

The Agricultural Conference will then be chaired by Bryan Hynes (the Chair of the Ag Affairs Committee) and by Seán Finan the National President. The primary goal of the conference is that the audience leave in a positive mind set, psyched up and motivated to overcome any challenges in their agricultural careers. The theme of the conference is “Inspiration for this Generation; taking the next step” and the conference aims to make attendees aware of the fact that the greatest limiting/contributing factor to their success is themselves.

The conference will also be an excellent opportunity for Macra na Feirme to deliver a message to the commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan, to show him young farmers enthusiasm for the industry and to highlight the need to and the value of investing in young farmers. We are also excited to hear the commissioner’s views on the role of young farmers and the long term development of the CAP.

In order to impart both of these messages we will be having a panel discussion amongst young farmers these ambitious young farmers will be from a variety of enterprises and each run successful businesses. The panel will discuss topics such as Land Mobility, the supports and obstacles with the current CAP and also the personal skills key to young farmers to deal with these and other challenges.  The individual panelists have not been finalised as the rally committee are hosting a workshop for the panelists and other contributing young farmers in advance of the conference. At this workshop the young farmers will discuss the personal skills necessary for young farmers to be successful. They will focus on the soft skills that they possess and need to improve upon in order to succeed in their career. Examples of these soft skills include personal motivation, planning, goal setting, dealing with stress, dealing with other stakeholders, etc,.

The panelists will then share these insights with their personal challenges and ambitions at the conference on the 24th. We are very excited about this innovative approach and hope that it will produce an organic dialogue at the conference while delivering extremely valuable information.

Price Guide

Weekend Entry:

Macra Members – membership card required:

Pre-book Entertainment Packs through your club secretary. This includes entry for all 3 nights, but does not include the Sunday Banquet.

Pre-book Entertainment pack by 5^th Oct to be in with a chance to win a €50 voucher for the Rochestown Park Hotel!

€13 – entry per night

€35 – weekend entertainment pack

Non Macra members:

€15 – entry per night

€40 – weekend entertainment pack

Tours:

Book tours on Friday night at the Rally, first come first served.

All buses will be filling 8.45-9.00 with a 9.00 sharp departure; this is to ensure you get the most out of the tours!

Beef Tour visiting 2 Muskerry Farms & Ag Conference

Dairy Tour visiting 2 Muskerry Farms & Ag Conference

€0 – delegates

€15 – non delegates

Alternative Ag Tour to Buffalo Farm & 9 White Deer Brewery & Ag Conference

€0 – delegates

€25 – non delegates

Alternative Tour – Cork City Medieval Walking Tour & Lee Valley tour including gardening activity at Griffins Garden Centre (note change of agenda from published event list)

€20 – delegates & non delegates

The Nightmare Realm

€20 – delegates & non delegates

Coopsuperstores.ie Macra na Feirme Annual Conference Launched!

The coopsuperstores.ie Macra na Feirme Annual Conference was officially launched at the Rochestown Park Hotel on Friday 21st August. The annual conference, better known as the Rally, is being hosted by Muskerry Macra this year. Rally chairperson Margaret Galvin addressed the crowd, giving detail on what to expect from the weekend. The theme of this year’s agricultural conference is Inspiration for this Generation – taking the next step. It promises to be a positive and interactive event and will showcase some exceptional farms in the Muskerry region.

The Rally which takes place 23^rd – 26^th October includes agricultural, competitive and social aspects & is one of the main highlights of the Macra year. There is a fantastic line up of bands, DJs and a Red FM Roadshow. Attendees can engage their creative side with the Friday night fancy dress theme Reeling in the Years. This year’s event will also feature a positive mental health seminar on Sunday afternoon.

John O’ Carroll, Head of Retail at Co-Op Superstores, the retail division of Dairygold addressed the room highlighting that coopsuperstores.ie, now Ireland’s largest online country store are proud to sponsor Macra na Feirme’s Annual Conference 2015. Co-Op Superstores have expanded their network from 39 stores across Munster to reaching farming customers nationwide with their online offering.  “The move to the online sphere was a natural progression for Co-Op Superstores as farming evolves through a period of rapid change and progression” said John.  “Farmers now see the benefits of having farm materials and inputs delivered direct to their farm as they constantly strive to become more efficient” he continued.

John referred to the similarities between Co-Op Superstores and Macra by saying “many of the values that we live by in Dairygold such as Results Driven, Innovation & Continuous Improvement and People Development & Respect are also reflected in Macra na Feirme”. He continued to say that “working with the team from Muskerry Macra on this event to date has been a real pleasure – their passion, commitment and drive for succession is testament to Macra na Feirme’s success and the contribution it has made to Irish agriculture over the years.”

 Macra na Feirme National President, Seán Finan, and Cork County Council Deputy Lord Mayor, Joe Carroll both outlined the positive effects of being involved in Macra na Feirme and congratulated Muskerry Macra on what is shaping up to be a fantastic Rally. Seán Finan also acknowledged the contribution of the title sponsor coopsuperstores.ie to the successful running of such an event. It was also a great opportunity to get a sample of what the venue has to offer as the Rochestown Park Hotel will be the main destination over the Rally weekend.

Rally Launch!

The official launch of the coopsuperstores.ie Macra na Feirme Annual Conference 2015 will be held in the Rochestown Park Hotel on Friday 21^st August at 8pm. This year’s Annual Conference (the Rally) is being hosted by Muskerry Macra. Rally planning is well under way, with both agricultural and non-agricultural events being organised. The launch is a fantastic opportunity to get a sneak peek at what the Rochestown Park Hotel has to offer over the Rally weekend. It will also be a chance to find out more about the title sponsors coopsuperstores.ie.

Cork Summer Show

coopsuperstores.ie Macra na Feirme Annual conference PR members Noel McSweeney, John McSweeney, Milo the Mascot, Norma Downing, Mags O’Leary, Shane Horgan & Sarah-Louise Healy with prize winning Aberdeen Angus bull Rosemead Karona

coopsuperstores.ie Macra na Feirme Annual Conference 2015 PR members Noel McSweeney, John McSweeney & Mags O’Leary at the Cork Cummer Show on sun 21st June

Muskerry Macra na Feirme had a stand at the Cork Summer Show, which took place on 21^st & 22^nd June. The annual event is a huge attraction with a variety of activities. The Muskerry stand proved to be popular with kids getting to milk the cow and guess how many popcorn in the jar, among others. A crowd gathered as the prizewinning Aberdeen Angus bull Rosemead Karona passed through and posed for a few photos, along with his owners Albert & Jennifer DeCogan of Mogeely Angus Herd. He is a three times All Ireland Champion, European Gold Medalist & World Silver Medalist bull. Muskerry Macra also took the opportunity to promote the coopsuperstores.ie Macra na Feirme Annual Conference, which they are hosting over the October Bank Holiday Weekend at the Rochestown Park Hotel.

Sponsorship Anouncement

On Thursday 2^nd of April coopsuperstores.ie proudly announced its title sponsorship of the Macra na Feirme Annual Conference 2015, being hosted by Muskerry Macra. Co-Op SuperStores is the retail division of Dairygold Co-Operative Society Ltd with 39 stores across Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Clare. Their online store located at www.coopsuperstores.ie and accessible from a pc, tablet or mobile phone offers nationwide delivery of their extensive range of Farm, Home, Garden & Petcare products. Delivery starts from as little as €6.50 with FREE delivery on orders of €200 or more.

The Annual Conference, fondly known to members as the Rally, will be held in the Rochestown Park Hotel in Cork from Fri 23^rd to Mon 26^th Oct 2015. The “Rally in the Lee Valley” will be a fantastic opportunity for members nationwide to gather with their peers. There are many activities over the weekend including agricultural, competitive and social aspects. Whether you are currently a member or thinking about becoming a member it’s a weekend not to be missed. Milo, the mouse mascot, was also present at the announcement. Milo is very encouraging of online shopping, which can be done simply with the click of a mouse or of course the touch of a screen. As coopsuperstores.ie and Muskerry Macra are founded on agriculture, this is an ideal partnership.

Speaking at the launch, John O Carroll Head of Retail at Co-Op Superstores said “We at coopsuperstores.ie are delighted to sponsor this year’s Macra na Feirme Annual Conference in Cork. As Ireland’s largest online country store, we are proud to be associated with this national event and what is has to offer its members.  The move to the online sphere has been a natural progression for our business as young farmers become busier and more tech savvy than ever. This is a fantastic opportunity for members to come together and share learnings and experiences as farming evolves through a period of rapid change.  I wish the organising committee every success with the Rally.”

Muskerry Macra January Regional Meeting

On Friday 9^th January the Muskerry Macra Regional meeting was held at the Rochestown Park Hotel. Muskerry Macra have teamed up with the hotel to host the Macra na Feirme Annual National Conference in 2015. This event, which is fondly known to members as the Rally, takes place over the October Bank Holiday weekend each year. While the Rally doesn’t take place until the latter half of the year event planning is already well under way. Attendees will have plenty to entertain them over the weekend, with fancy dress, farm walks, the agricultural conference, an alternative tour and banquet to name a few activities. The Rally committee chairperson Margaret Galvin is looking forward to being involved in the organisation of the Rally in the Lee Valley and said “This will be a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase the strength of our members and the Lee Valley area”.

Under Construction

We are very excited to be kicking off our website, with all you need to know for the 2015 Macra na Feirme Annual Conference. For now we’ve got our sleeves rolled up & are working on making this website as informative & user friendly as possible. Bear with us, do come back & in the mean time check us out on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004160028340) & Twitter (https://twitter.com/MacraConference).