A LARGE Irish delegation headed by Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith will attend a major conference in Limoges, France, today on the future of the sheep industry in Europe.
French minister for agriculture Michel Barnier has organised the event to discuss how EU support can reverse the decline in sheep numbers which has resulted in a 10 per cent decrease in slaughterings here in the last year.
As flock numbers decline across Europe, a main speaker at the conference will be Ireland East MEP Liam Aylward, who drew up a special report on the industry for the European Parliament which was presented last December.