Dairy farmers earning less than the minimum wage, claims Walshe

THE country’s dairy farmers are working for less than the average minimum wage of €8.65 per hour, Irish Farmers Association president Padraig Walshe told a milk price meeting in Kilkenny last night.

He cited two examples at present day milk prices — a producer of 50,000 gallons earns the equivalent of €5.82 per hour, and a large-scale producer with 90,000 gallons only earns €6.55 per hour.

“Any further cut in milk prices would wipe out the farmer’s wages, not to mention interest payments and bank charges.

“To prevent dairy farming becoming loss making, the price in 2009 must be in excess of 25 cent per litre. Even at that price thousands of farmers will go out of business.”

Waterford Fine Gael TD John Deasy has meanwhile questioned the necessity for what he described as massive cuts in the price of milk being proposed by Glanbia.

A price reduction to anywhere near 19-21 cents per litre would have a devastating effect on dairy producers in Waterford and elsewhere.

Mr Deasy urged Glanbia to consider the implications for milk producers.

He said he had contacted Fine Gael agriculture spokesperson Michael Creed, TD, who will be raising the issue with Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith.

Meanwhile, Glanbia said global dairy markets, having reached historical highs in 2007, dramatically weakened in 2008.

Glanbia predicted that 2009 will be a challenging year for all involved in the dairy industry. Prices will be under severe pressure at least up until the last quarter of the year.

“Given Ireland’s low cost milk production model and the progressive removal of milk production constraints-quotas, the long-term outlook is more encouraging than the short term prognosis,” it said.