A radical overhaul of the structures of the IFA, including the appointment of a full-time Oireachtas lobbyist, has been agreed by the farm organisation.
The new-look IFA will, in addition to hiring an Oireachtas liaison person, also appoint a consumer food and multiple retail liaison staff member.
Following eight hours of discussion on Monday, the organisation's 79-member national council agreed to trim its own membership to a 52-member executive council.
While the association failed to agree on abolishing the post of deputy president, it did agree to increasing the power of its county chairs.
The county chairman will be the county's representative on the new executive council.
In a move to involve more women in the 80,000-strong association, branches which have women members will be entitled to an extra vote at county executive level.
The meeting also agreed on a new system of weighted branch voting which will replace the one-branch, one-vote system in place for the last 30 years.
The new system, which will give one vote for up to 25 members, a second for membership up to 50, three votes for 51-75 members and four votes for a turnout of over 75 members, will be in place for the IFA presidential election later this year.
The delegates rejected a proposal to form an IFA young farmers' committee and remove the president of Macra na Feirme from the council. Instead, it will set up a project team to encourage involvement in IFA by farmers in their 30s.
IFA president John Dillon said structures that would help the association deal with an ever-changing world had been put in place, including a person to liaise with the Oireachtas.
"There are so many new committees in the Dáil and other areas, such as environment and food-related issues, we have to be involved with, that we need someone to identify the people to whom we need to speak and lobby," he said.
He said another initiative agreed yesterday was the setting up of a farm family and social affairs committee, which would deal with the myriad of problems farming families now face.
"These would include issues like access to services and advice in areas like marital breakdown and what that can do to a family," he said.
Mr Dillon said marriage failure on a farm was serious because not only were two people breaking up, but often the source of income for those people and their children was at risk.
IFA general secretary Michael Berkery said a new legal service was also planned which would look initially at what members were being charged and seek to find the best value for those needing legal advice.