Reforms in agriculture will see the ICMSA's membership dwindle, writes Sean MacConnell, Agriculture Correspondent.
The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy will put financial pressure on individual farmers who will have to decide whether to retire or expand.
The same is true of the main farm organisations who see their numbers dwindle each year as old members die or younger people quit the land for alternative jobs.
The changing landscape in agriculture has not been lost on the country's second largest farm organisation, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association. It held its annual general meeting in Limerick yesterday against a background of falling membership and a possible acceleration of that process.
In general, the ICMSA membership is drawn from the ranks of dairy farmers who will be hardest hit when the Common Agricultural Policy reforms kick in in Janaury 2005. Over the life of the Luxembourg reforms, the number of dairy farmers is expected to drop from the current 26,500 to just below 18,000.
Many of these will be members of the ICMSA which claims a current membership of 30,000 farmers and which has to compete with the larger Irish Farmers Association for its members and revenue.
The most recent indication is that the ICMSA has total income of just over €1.2 million annually, made up of €400,000 in membership fees and €765,000 in levies.
Despite the clear signals that farm organisations might be better off getting together to represent fewer people in the future rather than duplicating their efforts, farm unity was not on the agenda here yesterday. It was raised at the National Ploughing championships by Macra President, Mr Thomas Honner, but rejected by the ICMSA and the IFA.
ICMSA president, Mr Pat O'Rourke said he believed in diversity and the only other farm leader here yesterday was David Handley, chairman of the "Farmers for Action" group in the UK which has formed an alliance with ICMSA to prevent their exploitation by retailers.
It is understood that a group of farmers are planning to set up a new organisation around the recently resigned president of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, Mr John Deegan.