Dairy farmers push for suspension of superlevy

Suspension of superlevy repayments and interest-free cash loans for dairy farmers must be a priority for the incoming Minister for Agriculture, says IFA dairy chairman Sean O’Leary. 

The Cork-based dairy farmer wants the new minister to prioritise the full use of the EU Commission’s temporary State Aid allowance to support farmers.

“2016 superlevy repayments will begin to be deducted from next month’s milk cheque, and for many farmers, this will be an intolerable extra stress on cashflow in a year in which they are already struggling with low milk prices, bad weather and high feed bills,” Mr O’Leary said.