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.

IFA Dairy Committee chairman Michael Murphy said farmers will have to continue working on their own costs but pointed out that their processing co-ops have the biggest role to play and must cut out all inefficiencies.

“They must co-operate with neighbouring processors to take duplication out of milk collection, milk testing and administration. They must also co-operate to maximise capacity utilisation and invest in R&D to add more value to our milk,” he said.