Irish Farmers Journal editor and chief executive Justin McCarthy to step down

Resignation received ‘with great regret’ but successor to be appointed in coming months

Justin McCarthy will leave the Irish Farmers Journal in January 2023. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times

Justin McCarthy will step down from his roles as editor of the Irish Farmers Journal and chief executive of the Agricultural Trust in January 2023, the publication has announced.

Mr McCarthy first joined the organisation 17 years ago and was livestock editor for seven years before being appointed editor in 2013 and chief executive of the trust soon after.

Matt Dempsey, chairman of the Agricultural Trust, said he had received Mr McCarthy’s resignation “with great regret” and that he had “contributed a huge amount” to the development of the weekly newspaper and the business in his near 10 years at the helm.

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Mr McCarthy thanked Irish farmers, rural communities and the wider agricultural industry for their support of the title, which has 321,400 weekly print readers, according to research firm Kantar’s 2021 TGI survey.

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“I would like to thank the highly committed, innovative and skilled team across the business for their support in the execution of a transformation strategy, which continues to see the business succeed in challenging times. I wish the team every success as they continue with this drive into the future,” he added.

“I look forward to supporting the board in the coming months as it seeks to appoint a successor and I thank it for the support, guidance and trust over the years.”

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery is an Irish Times journalist writing about media, advertising and other business topics