ICMSA: Milk quota rules should be relaxed for butterfat content

EUROPEAN milk quota regulations should take a more relaxed line on butterfat content in the run-up to the end of the quota era in 2015, according to ICMSA president Jackie Cahill.

The Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association chief yesterday warned that Ireland’s dairy sector will face an increasingly difficult task in attempting to manage its milk output as it builds its dairy herd in anticipation of expansion post-2015. The industry will know by the end of this week whether or not it has avoided a superlevy fine for overproduction in the 12-month period to the end of March 2011.

Mr Cahill said that milk quota restrictions and the management of those restrictions should now be item number one on the agenda for the dairy industry in Ireland. He said the ongoing threat of a superlevy fine would cause major difficulties for large numbers of Irish farmers.