Programme to assist dairy farmers

A KERRY Agribusiness-Teagasc three-year joint dairy advisory programme, Focus on Profit, has been launched. It will assist Kerry milk suppliers in improving their on-farm technical performance and financial profitability.

Teagasc director Professor Gerry Boyle said he is confident the programme will position Kerry suppliers very well to embrace the opportunities now beginning to open up in the dairy industry.

“Teagasc has a good track record of working closely with Kerry to provide the best advice for milk suppliers. This is the third joint programme between the two organisations,” he said

Summary results for the last three years of the previous joint programme were presented to farmers at the conference in Tralee.

Monitor results show that net profit, excluding direct payments, on the dairy farms increased to 17.5 cent per litre or €1,542 per hectare in 2007.

However, there was quite a range in net profit levels from 13 cent per litre to 24.6 cent per litre depending on the land type and cost-output structure on farms.

Kerry Agribusiness general manager John O’Callaghan said the success of previous programmes was mainly due to farmers, processors, advisers and researchers all working together with a common goal of improving the standard of living and quality of life of farmers.

Sixteen new monitor farms will be set up along with 12 support farms to assist in transferring the best technologies to milk producers in the region.