Glanbia urged to pay patronage bonus to all milk producers

The IFA has urged Glanbia to pay the 0.5c/l co-op patronage bonus, which offsets much of the Glanbia September price cut, to all milk producers — not just those who have signed a milk supply agreement.

IFA president Eddie Downey said: “While we acknowledge that Glanbia have committed to holding the current price to year end, the extreme cut to 30.5c/l for September milk came as a shock to milk producers. They felt Glanbia were again using their early price setting mechanism to drive down all milk prices to a greater degree than September market returns warranted.”

“IFA recognises that the turbulence of international dairy markets will likely lead to a number of months of poorer returns before markets recover. However, farmers expect their milk purchasers to support them through this difficult time as we face into the post quota era. Glanbia needs to do more to reassure farmers that the GII JV model is fit for purpose and not relying on low producer milk prices to meet its financial commitments.