Farming skills stagnation hitting industry development

THERE has been frightening stagnation in the milk quota restricted dairy industry, according to Irish Examiner Farming Forum panellist John Murphy.

The Dripsey, Co Cork, dairy farmer linked this to low participation in improved methods such as discussion groups and cost per litre analysis. He said farming skills need to improve dramatically.

He warned against premature dairy herd expansion, with a risk of incurring superlevy fines because scrapping of milk quotas is still years away in 2015, and 1% quota increases are likely to be absorbed by rising butterfat content.