The 3rd All-Ireland Mushroom Conference impressions

摘要

There are those amongst us, and in the past I might have included myself in this group, that have said that the Irish and British mushroom industries have become almost one. At the very best this is a considerable over-simplification. Closely related they undoubtedly are not least by a presently shared market place, Britain, but one single entity they are most certainly not. The 3rd All-Ireland Mushroom Conference and Trade Show demonstrated this quite conclusively. The Conference was again held inthe Hillgrove Hotel which looks down from its commanding position onto Monaghan town and which is just a very few miles from the border with Northern Ireland. This is after all the Ail-Ireland Conference for what is in reality an Ail-Ireland industry. Comparisons are sometimes made between this and the MGA Conference but this is essentially comparing two disparate events. The Irish Conference involves inputs not only from grower organisations from both parts of Ireland, the IMGA, Ulster Farmers Union and the Irish Farmers Association but also the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland and Teagasc, UCD and the North Eastern Producers Co-operative Society. The major financial sponsor was Allied Irish Banks. Attendance is free of charge.