Tradition of passing family farm to son only must change – Minister McConalogue

“Whether it was a son or daughter or niece or nephew who was interested, preference was always given to the son or nephew.

“That has to change and I think we’re starting to see that change, but I think we have to do everything at the political level to implement it,” he said.

According to Minister Pippa Hackett, who also attended the presentation and is an organic farmer herself, it is important to break the stereotype that farming is a man’s job.

“There is a culture in Ireland that sees farming as a man’s world and there are many anecdotes of women farmers when someone comes to the farm and says, ‘Can I speak to the boss?’ and they say, ‘Well, I am him Boss, I’m the farmer, I’m the one who has the name on the herd number. “And it breaks through that glass ceiling.”

The conference, which will be held on St Bridget’s Day next year and will be chaired by former Agriculture Secretary Mary Coughlan, aims to highlight the challenges and barriers women face in the agricultural sector and what changes are needed.

“We don’t want to dictate what’s going to happen, it’s about empowering women so they can make the decisions … so they can do it themselves.

“It’s about what the capabilities are, the needs and the policy changes if necessary for that to change,” Coughlan said.

“So we want to hear what people have to say between now and the February 1 meeting.

“We’re going to have a number of keynote speakers (that day) who are going to bring some of the ideas, but it’s really about connecting with the women in attendance.”