Members of the Connacht Gold farming co-operative will today vote on whether to restrict members' rights, depending on the amount of money they spend with the co-op.

The group, which has about 15,000 members, is seeking to reduce the number of people on its board from 35 to 24 and to categorise members into three different levels. The main aim is to make the running of the organisation more manageable and to enable it to keep pace with changes in the economy and in the agricultural sector.

Under the proposed rules, to be a fully-fledged member of the co-op, a farmer will have to spend at least €3,000 a year on services provided by the group, such as the purchase of animal feed and fertiliser. One farmer said such an amount would not be hard to reach over a year and such a rule would also stop some leading members of the co-op from going elsewhere for their supplies.

Currently, the co-op has an unwieldy management structure, with several subcommittees feeding into the board. Initially all members will be categorised as A1, with the allocation changing after two years if they fail to spend €3,000 or to contact the co-op. Categories A1 and A2 will receive a dividend, but A2s will not be able to join the board.