96% of farmers say they will stay in milk production after quota ends

Some 96% of farmers intend to stay in milk production after the EU’s abolition of milk quotas in 2015, while 67% are already formulating their expansion plans, according to a survey of Lakeland Dairies suppliers.

More than half of supp-liers of the Cavan-based creamery are also already predicting that they will exceed quota in the build-up to the end of the quota era in 2015. Overall, they will exceed by 4%-5% on average.

Lakeland was one of the first creameries to begin gearing up for expansion, with the €20m investment 18 months ago in a technologically advanced milk powder plant at its Bailieboro operation, giving annual production capacity of 70,000 tonnes of milk powders and 25,000 of butter, along with significant cost savings.