Milk farmers’ campaign takes to the streets to highlight annual losses

Specialist liquid milk producers are being pushed out of farming due to €17,500 average annual losses from the low retail price theyare receiving per litre of milk, says a group of farmers who mounted a protest in Dublin city centre yesterday.

Led by the IFA, demonstrators distributed literature explaining the plight of almost 1,800 specialist dairy farmers to people on Grafton St in Dublin. The group wants an 8% per litre increase on the average retail price, and need an annual average of 40c per litre to survive.

These farmers encounter significantly higher winter feed and energy costs. Historically, these suppliers are paid a premium price to ensure Irish retailers can stock local milk throughout off-peak winter months.

With prices having tightened in recent years, many now find themselves being forced out of business, having bred cattle specifically for this specialist off-peak market.

IFA national liquid milk committee chairman Teddy Cashman said: “While every dairy operates different milk pricing systems, liquid milk producers today are producing milk for a price which does not cover our production costs. We need an annual average price of 40c/l to cover costs and pay a modest wage for our own labour, but our prices fall around 7c/l short of this break-even target.

“A lot of retailers are using our product as a loss leader. The people we met in Grafton St understood that we don’t have enough of a profit margin to survive.

“Some of them [the farmers] have a very tight land base, and this is the only market in which they can make a living. We have faced these challenges before. We are not being fatalistic about it, but we really need to raise public awareness and support.”

The average liquid milk supplier producing 250,000 litres is losing €17,500 over a whole year’s milk supplies. These losses are putting the availability of locally produced, fresh, high quality milk under threat.