Mr. Peter Fleming, chairman of Barryroe Co-op has been elected the new chairman of the ICOS Dairy Committee. He succeeds Jerry Long, following Mr Long’s election as ICOS President in June.  

Mr. Fleming is a dairy farmer from Timoleague, Co Cork and has been chairman of Barryroe Co-op since 2012 and has been on the board of Carbery from 2014, serving most recently as its chairman and he is also a member of the board of Ornua.

He previously served as chairman of Munster Cattle Breeding Group from 2016-17 and as a board member of ICBF. He is currently a board member of Shinagh Estates.

The ICOS Dairy Committee is responsible for the formulation of policy positions within ICOS affecting the Irish dairy sector. The Committee consists of Board representatives from the dairy processing and non-processing co-operatives. Mr Fleming represents Ornua Co-operative Limited on the ICOS Dairy Committee.

Mr. Fleming commenting on his appointment said “I am honoured to be elected chairman of the ICOS Dairy Committee and I look forward to working with the members of ICOS and industry stakeholders to develop new thinking and solutions to the key issues facing the Irish dairy sector. The dairy sector is a very vibrant and valuable contributor to the Irish and rural economy. However, it is facing a number of key challenges relating to the environment, the prospect of a No deal Brexit, income volatility, CAP Reform and access to skilled labour.”

Mr. Fleming added “Despite these significant challenges, I am very confident that the Irish dairy sector underpinned by the co-operative model can help milk suppliers and farm families to respond positively to these challenges.”

Eamonn Farrell – Agri-Food Policy Executive