The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association is moving from John Feely House in Limerick city to existing premises on the Dublin road, close to the University of Limerick.
Meanwhile, back at the Upper Mallow Street headquarters, ICMSA staff joke that Mr Ciaran Dolan, the new general secretary, probably will be looking for the contract to renovate the building - he's a dab hand at the DIY.
Mr Dolan has spent 21 of his 46 years working for State's second largest farmers' group. He has just moved from the office where he was chief economist to run the organisation on the 50th anniversary of its foundation. He says that it's in better shape than ever, with a membership of 35,000 and an executive all under 46 years old - an altogether different picture for the ICMSA, which traditionally has been regarded as a conservative, ageing organisation.
He aims to make the ICMSA as relevant as it has been in the past. "It's going to be a major challenge. Can we adapt to the growing demands of our members and the rapidly-growing structure of the food sector and Irish society? The actual expectation of Irish farmers has rightly grown and is on a par with other sectors."
Like the Irish Farmers' Association, the ICMSA's role is largely a lobbying one. "It's changing by the day. Over a two-year period, the increase in the workforce was greater than the total number of farmers, so in terms of numbers, we're declining. Also the actual requirements of our members are changing enormously.
"The single issue problem of product prices will continue, but the farm organisations of today and tomorrow will have to deal with issues like rural development, Compulsory Purchase Orders, the environment and social legislation. Being part of the social partnership makes the spectrum of issues much wider," he says.
But are farmers not regarded by other sectors as a bunch of whingers? - "I think there is still an element of `the farmers are at it again'. There would have been a justification for that in the past. But now it's up to people like myself - we're paid by farmers to defend their rights and put forward their best case. Irish society is developing, becoming more sophisticated. Professional farm lobbyists will have to change the way they communicate the genuine grievances. In the past some of the difficulty arose, not so much because of the actual demand, but the means by which it was articulated," he says.
Farmers in Ireland are a dying breed. The recent Agri-Food 2010 Committee Report projected that within 10 years, only 20,000 full-time farmers would be left in the State. Fewer young people want to become farmers. The figure appalls Mr Dolan.
"I believe you will have maybe 30,000 in a no-policy-change situation. The difference between no change and a structured approach is of the order of 5,000 to 7,000. Is it worth the candle? I believe it is. It's important because we're going to have either a massive dilution of milk quotas, restrictions, or a free-for-all. A full-time farm unit is more likely to be able to respond to the need of the processing sector and markets."
Various levers are available to the State to manage this change, he says: a PAYE allowance for farmers, an investment allowance, corporation tax for goods supplied on contract and investment in research and training.
On the investment allowance, he says a minimum of £500,000 is required to buy a farm, yet the purchase is liable to stamp duty. "There should be an investment allowance or a very positive tax incentive both in terms of income taxes and capital taxes.
"We have proposed that a standardised 12.5 per cent corporation tax should apply to profits which arise from a contract of supply. It would allow us all to gain experience and develop trust between producer and processor and capture the markets with confidence and maintain them. Again, the cost would be quite small."
He says Teagasc, the agriculture and food development authority, has been responding well on advice and training, in developing new animal breeding programmes and working to preserve the environment. "We clearly have a very highly-skilled group of farmers. We probably lost a number of years where we didn't bring training up to standard, but the inclusion of the agricultural colleges in the CAO is helpful. But all the schemes and training will not work unless young individuals see farming as a career that would yield comparable income."
The ICMSA's primary concern still is the income of its members. "This involves two components: the return from the marketplace and the cost structure we face. We are faced with a WTO which will lead to greater if not total liberalisation.
"When faced with a fixed output price in nominal terms and then faced with an inflation rate of twice the average in Europe, it's a major concern for us. In aggregate terms, this year farm incomes will probably recover to 1998 levels. In the meantime, inflation has moved on about 7.5 per cent."
Mr Dolan says e-commerce and IT are vital to the future of farming. The association recently approached the University of Limerick to develop Farm IT, a new model to look at best practice in other countries and to apply e-commerce to farming. "I believe e-commerce and farming has tremendous potential. I believe IT in terms of market information, compliance in terms of what's required for delivery and e-commerce can open up a tremendous window of opportunity for farmers."
For example, he believes there is no reason why farmers should not comply with the various registrations they have to make to the Department of Agriculture and Food via the Web.
Outside the farm gate, Mr Dolan says we have world-class companies in the food processing sector.
"We're still increasing value-added on an annual basis. What's surprising is we can sell Irish butter on the German market with a 10 per cent premium. Looking at the structure of the dairy processing sector, a lot of nonsense is spoken about rationalisation and savings. There is an exaggerated expectation of sales and nearly complete ignoring of the costs of merger. There is a lot of sharing of facilities at the moment. I wouldn't be that concerned about further mergers and we can get off talking about a grand plan."
He regards the Groceries' Order as a solid piece of legislation. "I don't believe selling below cost is an acceptable competitive activity. The person who can do that is the person who has scale. The items covered increased 2.5 per cent a-viz vis-avis 5 per cent inflation. If we removed it, new entrants into the sector and very strong retailers could legally abuse their dominant position. Why withdraw it and allow chaos to apply," he asks.
Born in Glenamaddy, Co Galway, he started a degree in agriculture at NUI Galway, which he completed at UCD, before doing his post-graduate degree. At UL he did his MBA and is in the process of doing his doctorate on the structure and strategy of Irish food firms there - where he was joined this year by his eldest son Darragh, who is doing industrial biochemistry.
He lives in Castletroy in Limerick, with his wife Teresa and four sons - the others are Cormac, 16, and Niall and Ciaran Og, 13-year-old twins. Hill walking, cycling and golf (with his sons only, he emphasises) are his main interests.
