IFA will fully participate in joined-up approach to dairy expansion, says Bryan
Banks, government and dairy plc, and co-op profits must be used to fund expansion, he said. But farmers will not contribute funding for extra processing until the existing plant capacity is fully utilised, and quota restrictions are removed. Teagasc and co-ops must agree a milk supply pattern that maximises farm profit, while optimising processing capacity.
He said IFA is working at EU level to ease the milk quota restriction of Irish farmers up to 2015 – but some member states want quotas in place for as long as possible. He said only the top third of farmers benefited from Teagasc advice, and he challenged the organisation to provide advice for maximum efficiency on all dairy farms. IFA wants the Irish Dairy Board to identify the markets and products to focus on in the industry expansion. Government must not restrict expansion with environmental- and climate change-related legislation, and must enable tax-efficient expansion of dairy farms, as well as a “softer landing” before the end of the EU milk quota regime in 2015.
