Farmers’ incomes challenge for co-ops

FERMOY: THE country’s co-ops were challenged yesterday to make the delivery of good incomes for dairy farmers their strategic priority.

IFA deputy president Ruaidhri Deasy, launching the 2005 IFA dairy income campaign in Moorepark, Fermoy, Co Cork, warned that an industry with poor income prospects will not attract young farmers nor will it be able to retain existing suppliers.

He said this is totally unacceptable. There is, therefore, a major onus on the processing industry to focus strategy on taking costs out to deliver improved dairy farmers incomes.