New chair takes the reins in Wicklow IFA
Irish Farmer's Association (IFA) members in Co. Wicklow have elected a new chairperson to lead the county executive after Tom Byrne completed his term in the role.
Organic sheep farmer Selena McKenzie was elected to the role this week, after coming through the ranks in various other roles in the county executive.
McKenzie has been a member of the IFA for 16 years, and said that, in that time, she worked with "many very good Co. Wicklow chairs".
McKenzie told Agriland that, when asked if she would put her name forward, she was initially reluctant to do so, usure if she would be able to emulate her predecessors.
However, McKenzie noted that it is often difficult to get people to step up for voluntary roles, and that she has "an opportunity now to give back".
"I'm very proud to stand as Wicklow county chair so that I can advocate for people, and to give back. I did come up through the ranks. I was county secretary and then I was vice-chair, and in that time, unbeknownst to myself, I knew more than I thought that I did, because I watched them in their roles," she said.
The incoming Wicklow executive chair noted that the county is a diverse one, with many sectors well represented there despite its relatively small size.
One issue McKenzie was keen to note was the administrative burden of farm schemes, especially the "small print".
"All these schemes come at us...and if we don't keep an eye on the small print collectively, you can get swamped by it, and at the end of day we’re trying to make a living.
McKenzie started farming in the early 1990s, and originally had suckler cows, but had to depopulate in 2006 due "to the endless TB breakdowns we suffered", which she attributes to the impact of wildlife.
She also noted that the social aspect of the IFA is important, though sometimes overlooked.
"That's the part of IFA that is very rarely acknowledged, that for some people that monthly meeting is a lifeline of social interaction," McKenzie said.
On the same night McKenzie was elected as county chair, Amanda Mooney, the Wicklow representative on the IFA's national Animal Health Committee, was elected vice-chair.
Commenting on the new Wicklow IFA chair, outgoing chair Tom Byrne wished McKenzie well in her new role, and said he was "very proud" that the county now had an all-female team for chairperson and vice-chairperson.
