Dairy farmers need support

Dairy farmers will need EU support mechanisms to protect the industry against a recurrence of the 2009 milk price collapse, IFA National Dairy chairman Sean O’Leary has warned.

Speaking ahead of a meeting with Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney to discuss the dairy crisis, he said EU supports must be utilised rapidly to turn around market sentiment and prices.

“Minister Coveney must work hard with Commissioner Hogan and his European colleagues to deliver additional EU support measures urgently, to reduce as much as possible the duration of this market downturn,” said Mr O’Leary.