Cause for New Year optimism in dairying

THERE is little doubting that Ireland can achieve the 2020 target of a 50% increase in milk production.

What worries most dairy farmers isn’t what needs to happen at farm level, it’s the apparent lack of progress in preparing for efficient processing and marketing of the extra milk, in order to give farmers the best possible price and to minimise periods of relatively low prices.

Most experts predict strong growth in demand for dairy products, mainly driven by developing markets.