Volatility will be the main issue facing dairy next year

A superficial read of the Teagasc Outlook 2016 for the dairy sector published last week could leave dairy farmers under the impression that they were set for better times as margins are predicted to recover by 25% per litre and 34% per hectare.

However, this must be put in the context of a massive fall in 2015 incomes, despite an estimated 10% increase in output volume and significant improvements in constituents.

2015: a good dairy year?