The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) is a national organisation to represent the interests of all sectors of farming in Ireland. It was founded in January 1955 as the National Farmers Association (NFA), aiming to lead Irish farmers out of the depression and deprivation which had dominated rural Ireland for decades.
The NFA merged in the 1960s with four smaller organisations representing specific sectors (including Leinster Milk Producers (now Fresh Milk Producers), beet growers and horticulture) to form the Irish Farmers Association – the IFA.
In the 1972 referendum on Irish membership of the European Economic Community, the IFA campaigned for a "yes" vote, seeking access to European markets and higher prices for agricultural produce.
The IFA's head office is at the Irish Farm Centre, in Bluebell, Dublin. It also maintains 12 regional offices and an office in Brussels.
Read more about Irish Farmers' Association: List of Presidents
Famous quotes containing the words irish and/or association:
“I was the rector’s son, born to the anglican order,
Banned for ever from the candles of the Irish poor;
The Chichesters knelt in marble at the end of a transept
With ruffs about their necks, their portion sure.”
—Louis MacNeice (1907–1963)
“A good marriage ... is a sweet association in life: full of constancy, trust, and an infinite number of useful and solid services and mutual obligations.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)