The National Dairy Council is continuing to expand its Farmer Ambassador programme by recruiting two new young passionate farmers who are based in Galway and Sligo. Enda Walsh from Galway and Christopher Tuffy from Tipperary will join NDC’s troop of exceptional dairy farmers who continue to spread the message of sustainable dairy production across Ireland.
The current group consists of 13 Farmer Ambassadors who act as advocates and spokespeople for Ireland’s family-farm-based, grass-fed dairy production system. They are champions for the many initiatives being employed to make Irish dairy more sustainable and environmentally-friendly – and they are all keen to speak about what they are doing and what needs to be done.
Young dairy farmer Enda Walsh represents Galway, he went to UCD at 17 and studied Dairy Business. As part of the course he spent 6 months in New Zealand in 2012 and a following 6 months in Moorepark – Animal & Grassland Research centre. He graduated in 2014 and returned home to the farm which is on the outskirts of Oranmore and farms alongside his father Henry and mother Patricia.
Young dairy farmer Christopher Tuffy represents Sligo and was crowned FBD Young Farmer of the Year in 2022. Upon completing his Leaving Cert in 2008, Christopher spent a year at Mountbellew Agricultural College and then Kildalton Agricultural College where he completed the Dairy Herd Management course. From there, he accepted a life-changing placement in New Zealand. When an opportunity came up to lease a block near Sligo town, Christopher’s father backed him and he runs this farm milking 150 cows near Doonally.
Farm Advocacy Manager at NDC, Majella McCafferty, says
“For some time now, the industry has lacked a consistent approach to communicating our side of the story, and, as a result, we’ve been reactive rather than proactive and on the back foot. They say that if you’re having to explain, then you’ve lost, and – sadly – that’s where we are. What we need is a clear voice, championing our industry with positive stories about the reality of life on the farm, the effective measures being undertaken to address the environmental challenges, the people that make dairy happen and the future that they want to have. With our Farmer Ambassador programme we now have that voice and our role is to provide the platforms that they need to tell their stories so that the general public can feel better connected to the production system that puts top quality Irish dairy in the chiller cabinet.”
The Farmer Ambassadors are promoted via social media, in NDC media relations activity and directly to digital, print and broadcast media who may require a dairy industry spokesperson to talk about Irish dairy from an informed point of view. They are regionally spread throughout the country and available for interview on a broad level of subjects.
-ends-
For further information on NDC’s Farmer Advocacy programme please visit https://ndc.ie/sustainability/farmer-ambassador-programme/
Contact: Cathy Curran, Communications Manager | NDC | ccurran@ndc.ie | M: +353 86 877 7664 | T: +353 1 290 2451
