President Michael D. Higgins speaking at an ICSA event with ICSA National President Gabriel Gilmartin and ICSA General Secretary Eddie Punch

Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan TD, with ICSA National President, Gabriel Gilmartin, ICSA Leinster Vice President, Paddy Kent and ICSA General Secretary, Eddie Punch at the recent 2011 ICSA Agriculture Briefing Seminar - "Rebuilding the Irish Economy" - held in Buswells Hotel, Dublin

 CELEBRITY BAINISTEOIR:

As part of the Celebrity Bainisteoir programme for RTE TV, fromer Irish international Tony Cascarino (with his mentor, former Dublin footballer Ciarán Whelan) milked 104 cows on the farm of senior ICSA member John Cleary. The programme put Cascarino in a position where he had never been in before to show that he wasn't afraid of hard work. After some initial teething problems and with the help of the Cleary family, Cascarino finished in under 2 hours. The programme airs this Sunday at 6.30pm on RTÉ One. Here are a few photos from the day... note Tony's jacket!!!

Drystock Farmer: The latest edition of the ICSA publication, the DryStock Farmer, can be found here..... DryStock Farmer Autumn 2011 ICSA Pre Budget Submission:  The Pre Budget Submission from the ICSA for Budget 2012 can be found here........ ICSA Pre Budget Submission October 2011 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Social Networking: Follow us us on Twitter: Find us on Facebook:   ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NEWS: 23/01/12 - ICSA not happy with disadvantaged area proposals 20/01/12 - Quality over breed advises ICSA 18/01/12 - ICSA warns against revolutionary reform of CAP 16/01/12 - Beef prices increase despite the attempts of factories, sheep prices jump 13/01/12 - ICSA says Zone C farmers must be allowed to begin slurry spreading 10/01/12 - Beef prices remain consistent with positive outlook ahead, sheep prices on the move 09/01/12 - ICSA reacts angrily to proposed cuts presented to Minister Howlin 05/01/12 - ICSA urges caution on imported livestock 04/01/12 - Beef prices receive early year lift, rises also for sheep 21/12/11 - ICSA comment on details of BVD programme 19/12/11 - Christmas demand to continue, sheep weight limits rise 16/12/11 -ICSA elects new Beef Chairman 16/12/11 - ICSA welcomes Coveney’s commitment to suckler herd 16/12/11 - Spiralling input costs offsets rises in income 15/12/11 - Threat of dogs still a worry for sheep farmers 15/12/11 - ICSA appeals for 50% payment to remaining farmers immediately 13/12/11 - ICSA says exchange rate could hinder export growth 12/12/11 - Cows and bulls up with factories looking to peel back prices, sheep performing strongly 09/12/11 - ICSA misgivings on DAS reduction Criteria 06/12/11 - Mixed result for farmers – ICSA 05/12/11 - Mixed signals for Agriculture from Government – ICSA 05/12/11 - Beef prices slip back as killrate rises, sheep prices solid 02/12/11 - Farmers and factories need to tackle fluke - ICSA 28/11/11 - Increases across the board despite factories’ attempts to pull prices, sheep prices remain steady 25/11/11 - ICSA calls for closer scrutiny on sheep rustling by Department 25/11/11 - ICSA calls on Minister to back the sector 22/11/11 - Government needs to address age imbalance of farmers – ICSA 22/11/11 - ICSA condemn decision to close Laois hospitals 21/11/11 - High beef prices continue with further increases, sheep prices increase also 14/11/11 - ICSA calls for common sense on carbon tax 14/11/11 - Beef shortages continue as factories continue to pay top prices, sheep prices steady 10/11/11 - ICSA expresses disappointment with level of funding for agriculture 08/11/11 - ICSA warns against closure of rural Garda stations 07/11/11 - Good weather in early November highlights slurry rules stupidity 07/11/11 - ICSA reacts angrily to talk of Single Payment cuts to replace Government funding 07/11/11 - Factories “desperate” for stock as beef prices soar, sheep prices suffer slight slip 03/11/11 - ICSA says Minister’s approach on climate change is better