Options if milk leases expire
Quota transfer options for other categories of producers were outlined by Jim Beecher, Assistant Secretary General, Department of Agriculture and Food, at last week’s ICOS Dairy Conference for co-op directors and managers.
Where land and milk quota leases expired on March 31, and if the lessor cannot agree to sell to the lesee, they can arrange a one-year extension lease. If a lease expiring on March 31 is lost, the lesee will get priority in the 2006-07 restructuring and temporary leasing schemes, and in the new quota transfer system in 2007.
There are a couple of options for those who ceased milk production before April, intending to sell quota in the 2006 restructuring scheme. If they produce some milk in 2006-07, they can temporarily lease the rest of their quota. An entire quota can be only be temporarily leased in cases where production capacity has been temporarily affected, due to force majeure.
