Dairy sector expansion plans ‘will cost farmers less than quota spend’

AMBITIOUS plans to expand the dairy sector will cost farmers less than half of the €825 million they spent buying quota over the past 20 years, the Irish Co-Operative Organisation Society (ICOS) has said.

ICOS says farmers will see far greater value from investing €400m to fund processing equipment for creameries than the €825m they spent on EU quota from 1990 to 2011, effectively paying for the right to produce milk. The quota era ends in March, 2015, meaning the €825m will effectively be dead money.

ICOS chief executive Tom O’Callaghan said: “Farmers have always invested in their own industry. They now also realise they will get better value from investing in dairy than from buying apartments in Bulgaria.