IFA: the dairy board can lead

THE Irish Dairy Board (IDB) must lead the rationalisation of milk processing and marketing, aided by the Government’s €100 million investment fund.

Irish Farmers Association (IFA) president Padraig Walshe made that clear at a meeting with the IDB chairman, Michael Cronin, and chief executive, Noel Coakley, on the future of the country’s dairy industry.

Mr Walshe said farmers, through their co-ops, did not have the means to make major investments, while the IDB had resources that were not fully leveraged.