Kieran Coughlan: Superlevy deductible this year

A month has passed since the end of quotas, and milk production is steaming ahead, with supplies running ahead of last year by about 10%.

However, some of this is undoubtedly the result of the unprecedented efforts to hold milk over into April, in one last major effort to avoid superlevy fines.

Just this week, Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney confirmed that Ireland was estimated to have finished up 4.34% over quota, leaving Irish dairy farmers with a hefty superlevy bill of about €69m, or an average of about €3,800 for each dairy farmer.