ICMSA concerned at milk-price cuts

THE recent decision of Dairygold Co-op to cut the June and July milk prices will have a severe impact on dairy farmers’ incomes in a year when they are also paying high costs due to poor weather, a farm leader has predicted.

Dermot Moynihan, chairman, North and East Cork, Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, said the decision will end up costing some farmers nearly 3,000 off their bottom line.

Mr Moynihan said farmers were disappointed to note Dairygold would yet again be operating at mid-table when compared with other co-ops in terms of milk price.

He said Dairygold suppliers were rightly asking what benefit had flowed from rationalisation drives the co-op operated in recent years.

Mr Moynihan said milk suppliers, upon whom the whole enterprise is based, are not benefiting from the rationalisation process.

He said Dairygold has one of the largest milk pools in Ireland, but will only be paying a mid-table milk price when they should be the price leaders. Mr Moynihan said it is essential that the board members, as farmers’ representatives, clearly spell out the situation to management.

Dairygold described the milk price cuts as “commercially unavoidable” as a result of the deep bite that EU reductions in support have had on dairy returns.

It said drastic EU cuts in supports have hit dairy returns to the tune of 32c/gallon on the basket of Dairygold products since the introduction of the mid-term review on July 1, 2004.