Research aims to reduce milk costs

AN increase in the dairy research levy contributed by farmers will have the specific target of reducing the overall cost of milk production.

A production cost reduction of 2.5c/litre (9p/gal) and an increase in the value of milk ex-farm by 1c/litre (3.5p/gal) will the targets of Teagasc Moorepark.

The levy increase, recently agreed by the Dairy Research Trust Co-op, under the overall umbrella of ICOS, is to support an expansion in the research programmes.

Teagasc Moorepark says the increased funding will be allocated on a 60-40 basis between dairy production research and dairy food research.

It will amount to about €1.50 per cow per year.

Dr Pat Dillon said: “We have discussed priority areas with the industry and an agreed programme has been put in place, the main objective being higher profitability through the specific cost-cutting targets.

“Dairy farmers at all performance levels will benefit from these.”

Priority areas for the research, carried out in collaboration with UCD, will be animal breeding-reproduction, grassland and grazing, milk production systems and economic analysis, increasing the value of milk, dairy cow health and welfare and regional milk production.

Much of this research, which has already begun, will be carried out on commercial dairy farms.