The Praesidium of Copa, the organisation representing European farmers, today unanimously
elected Mr Padraig Walshe as the new President for the 2009 to 2011 period. He succeeds Mr
Jean-Michel Lemétayer whose two-year mandate has come to an end.
Mr Walshe has been President of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) since 2007. From 1998 to 2002, he chaired the IFA’s National Dairy Committee. Together with his wife, he manages a family farm and mainly produces milk and beef meat.