Lisburn man is elected as chair of the Dairy Council

Michael Drayne, a partner in Draynes Farms, was elected at the Council’s AGM last week. He is a past Vice Chairman and succeeds William Hanna.

Mr Drayne said he was ‘delighted’ to have been elected.

“I count it a great honour and I look forward to my period in office over the next two years” he said. “The dairy industry is a very important part of both the agri-food sector in Northern Ireland, and our local economy.

“Even though it has grown significantly over the past decade, it has the potential to develop further and to continue to provide much needed revenue and employment.

“Although exports are a very important part of the dairy industry’s portfolio, the domestic market remains very important in terms of income. Therefore, the work of the Dairy Council in maintaining and developing the consumption of milk and dairy products is vital to the future well being of the dairy industry.”

The newly elected Vice Chairman is Harry O’Neill, a long-standing board member of the Dairy Council as well as a member of the board of cross-border dairy co-op Lakeland Dairies.

He supported the new Chairman’s views, and added: “I look forward to working with Michael, our Board and staff to ensure that milk and dairy products continue to be front of mind for consumers. “Obviously we do not yet know what the outcome of the CAP review will be, but it is likely that as dairy farmers we will become even more reliant on market returns for our milk price and income.”

Therefore it is important that the dairy supply chain – dairy farmers and dairy processors – should work together in common cause to maximise our income from our domestic market.”