Dairy farms already going over milk quota

WITH some Irish dairy farmers having already exceeded their milk quota limit after only one month of the production year, IFA President John Bryan has warned them to live within their allowed milk supply.

By July, many suppliers to the big Glanbia and Dairygold Co-ops will have exceeded their annual quotas and will receive no further payments for milk, according to Bryan.

“Don’t play Russian roulette with your livelihoods,” he warned dairy farmers when he opened the Emerald Expo dairy show in Kilkenny last Saturday. He urged them to take the opportunity offered by increasing dairy cow numbers, and to upgrade their herds in preparation for the end of EU milk quotas in 2015.

He welcomed Glanbia’s contribution to milk price stability through its index-linked base price of at least 28cpl for three years from last January. Mr Bryan revealed that IFA has been talking to other big milk processors, including Kerry, about introducing similar schemes.

Mr Bryan warned that dairy farmers will also lose out of the EU agrees a free trade with south American countries, because imports of cheddar and skim milk powder will increase, and cull cow values will fall.

He said IFA has refused to interact with the European Commission in talks on compensation for farmers in the event of a free trade deal.