Jack Kennedy, the editor of the Farmers Journal, is to step down from the role.
William Minchin, chief executive of the Agricultural Trust, wrote to staff on Friday evening to inform them that Mr Kennedy “has decided to step down from his position as editor” from September 30th.
The move comes days after The Irish Times reported Mr Kennedy may leave his role amid tensions with the board of the Agricultural Trust, which is the newspaper’s publisher.
Mr Kennedy “has spent 23 years with the organisation serving as both dairy editor and deputy editor of the Irish Farmers Journal, before being appointed editor of the publication in February 2023,” Mr Minchin said in the statement.
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“In his time with the Irish Farmers Journal, Jack Kennedy was renowned for his passion and advocacy of grass based production systems, and believed strongly in the ethos of serving farmers in rural communities.”
Deputy editors Caitríona Morrissey and Adam Woods will take over editorial responsibilities for the newspaper while a process to select a new editor will commence, Agricultural Trust chairman Liam Wolfe, said.
The move comes a week after The Irish Times reported on tensions between the Agricultural Trust board and Mr Kennedy, centred on a perception at editorial level of an overreach by the board into editorial matters.
One of the key causes of the rift surrounds plans for a 15-year lease with Tullamore Farm, a 200-acre demonstration facility in Screggan, Co Offaly, owned by the Grogan family, which is thought to be losing money.
