Care urged over quotas as farmers narrowly avoid incurring super levy

DAIRY farmers should either buy extra quota or destock in the build-up to the end of the quota era in 2015, cautions ICMSA president Jackie Cahill.

The milk organisation leader welcomed the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s estimation that Ireland managed to stay under quota by just 0.43%, but urged farmers to carefully manage production for the year ahead. Brussels, he insists, is extremely unlikely to relax its quota regulations.

“We have been in Brussels lately and I wouldn’t be hopeful about any relaxation of the rules,” Mr Cahill said.