Coveney: We must manage our milk output sensibly

THE milk quota position improved in January, from 0.08% under quota at the end of December to 0.30% under at the start of February.

But Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has warned that Ireland will be significantly over milk quota if the milk deliveries of the first three months of last year are repeated this year.

He has also practically ruled out more flexible butterfat adjustments in the current quota year, which Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Cyprus and two or three other countries are seeking at EU level, along with an increase of more than 1% in quota allocation for countries pre-2015.