Milk on: seems dairy market doesn’t work like beef market

Predictions that milk prices will weaken for the next six to eight months are a sober reminder to dairy farmers that their expansion plans must be robust enough to withstand major shocks.

Milk quotas stopped many farmers’ plans in 1984; 30 years later, farmers should consider what could interfere with their plans for the era after milk quotas disappear next April.

Teagasc experts point out that other constraints will replace quotas — such as the availability of land, labour or capital, lower milk prices, higher interest rates, sub-optimal performance, and animal health issues.