“We decided to hold the event because it's so important and there's so many women involved in our industry, whether it be at processing level, at farm level – it is very important to celebrate that,” according to vice-chair of Carbery Group John Hurley at an event held on Friday 18 September in the Celtic Ross Hotel.
Barriers continue to exist for women entering farming with challenges around visibility, access to opportunities and succession planning.
In Drinagh Co-op, two board members out of 13 are female.
“We're probably ahead of the curve in west Cork at the moment, but we have we have a lot of farmers, farmers' wives, and I think they play a pivotal role within agriculture, and always have done, and probably unrecognised as well,” said John.
On the day, attendees herd from a panel titled 'Running the farm: the reality today', which explored the themes through the experiences of four women who are each making their own impact across the sector.
The panel included CEO of Bandon Co-op and Carbery board member Eilís Mahon; dairy farmer and European technical support lead with Datamars Livestock Nicole Keohane; dairy farmer and quality manager with Clonakilty Food Co Aoife Dullea; and director of innovation at Carbery Group Áine Hallihan.
Take-away
When it comes to take-aways from the event, John said: “It’s about having the confidence to step into the unknown. I think that was a big message I got from today was the confidence that our panelists had.
"I think innovation and technology will have a huge role in that as well, because there's a huge space in that in reducing workload and making a better work life balance for whatever gender enters the agricultural industry.”
Watch Sarah McIntosh speak with John Hurley and Nicole Keohane here:
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