Quota transfer system 2007: review 2008

THE Department of Agriculture and Food expects milk producers to act responsibly when buying milk quotas, and bear in mind that the EU’s quota system is due for review in 2008, and to be scrapped by 2014 or 2015.

“We should not be afraid to let farmers themselves decide what’s best for their business, said Jim Beecher, Assistant Secretary General, Department of Agriculture and Food, at last week’s ICOS Dairy Conference for co-op directors and managers, in Portlaoise.

He confirmed that an open-market milk quota transfer system will be introduced in April, 2007, through which quota can be sold with or without land, or leased with land.

“Quotas must be managed to ensure we face the emerging challenges”, said Mr Beecher, who revealed that the restructuring scheme is releasing insufficient quota, and as a result, the scale of dairy farming in Ireland is falling further behind New Zealand, Denmark, and Holland.

The new system can be managed in the best interests of the industry, overcoming fears of high quota prices, over-concentration and regional distribution of milk production, and the concerns of priority categories such as lost leases, he said.