Beating the spread: Kerrygold backs itself to get even bigger
Kerrygold Plant Mitchelstown Co. Cork. Picture Clare Keogh
A generation of people grew up across Ireland in the middle of the last century with a lunchtime date which they faithfully kept every Monday.
It was with the Mitchelstown Creameries sponsored programme which was broadcast for 15 minutes on Radio Éireann just before the 1.30pm news.
Much has changed since those days when farmers always made sure to be in from the fields and siting at the kitchen table to hear the broadcast.
It was a source of pride to them that one of their co-ops was up there on the Radio Éireann schedule with such iconic programmes as , and the .
The Mitchelstown slot focused on traditional music while promoting the creamery and the town that gave it its title as the home of good cheese.
That format of sponsored radio programmes has long gone, and Mitchelstown Creameries itself is now part of Dairygold, formed out of a merger with Ballyclough Co-op in 1990.
Yet, the dairy industry is still creating music across the Dairygold catchment and further afield. Central to that story is Ornua, a co-operative formerly known as An Bord Bainne and later the Irish Dairy Board.
With its head office in Dublin, it exports dairy products to 110 countries, has annual sales of over €2.3bn and a global team of 2,400 employees from 35 countries.
Ornua has 10 business units worldwide, including 13 production facilities, supported by sales and marketing teams in locations from the European Union to Asia and from the Middle East to the United States.
It owns Kerrygold, Ireland’s only billion-euro food brand, created in 1962 by Sir Anthony O’Reilly, general manager of what was then called An Bord Bainne.
His vision and that of the Board’s first chairman, PJ Power, Ballyclough Co-op, established it as a premium brand, befitting the rich quality of Irish milk. Today, it enjoys leading positions in many markets.
Ornua, which is from the Irish "Ór Nua" meaning "new gold" is the largest exporter of Irish dairy products and a key part of the society’s growth strategy to significantly increase sales on behalf of its co-op members and Ireland’s dairy farming families.
Since 2016, it has been producing and packing butter at the aptly named Kerrygold Park in Mitchelstown, where it employs over 120 people and is supporting local economic activity through services and businesses.
Ornua says it is committed to the area and focused on the long-term overall growth of the brand, with market returns that support the livelihoods of over 14,000 family farms across Ireland.
Kerrygold Park currently has a capacity to produce up to 50,000 tonnes of butter per annum including new butter products and formats in Ireland, for customers world-wide.
As part of that strategy, Ornua is now about to submit a planning application to Cork Country Council for a €40m expansion project at the park.
It will include a new butter churn and cream processing infrastructure, two packaging lines, additional cold storage as well as other facilities.
The proposal is to use existing space in the grounds. It will create 30 permanent jobs and employ a further 120 people during construction. Subject to planning, construction is expected commence this year with completion earmarked for summer 2022.
Cork company, KMPC, Ballinora, Waterfall, is working with Ornua in preparing the planning application, which will be submitted to the local authority with an Environmental Impact Assessment Report.
It will be available to view in the local authority offices during business hours, Covid-19 restrictions permitting, and on its planning section website www.corkcoco.ie Central to what happens at Kerrygold Park is the quality of the milk produced by farmers from cows fed on grass.
Each year, Ornua, with the National Dairy Council, sets out to find and celebrate the top-quality dairy farmers with a milk awards competition.
Farming families worked hard to keep supermarket shelves stocked with dairy products while maintaining high standards in milk quality.
More home consumption and an increase in home baking boosted Kerrygold sales.
The 2020 overall winner of the quality milk award was Richard Starrett, Aurivo Co-op, who works his farm in Lifford, Co Donegal, as a family operation with a particular focus on sustainability.
Dr Patrick Wall, professor of public health at University College Dublin, one of the judges, said the standard of entrants has improved year on year, which is a credit to the immense dedication of Irish family farms to producing the best quality milk in the world.
He said consumers would be reassured by the attention to detail in terms of hygiene, food safety, animal health and welfare and environmental protection applied by each of the finalists.
Ornua chief executive John Jordan, praised the commitment and dedication of farm families. He said their pride and hard work are what makes Kerrygold world-famous, and a family favourite at home and abroad.
Zoe Kavanagh, chief executive, National Dairy Council, said there has never been a better time to celebrate excellence in dairy farming.
“During challenging times people need to have trust in what they know. Irish dairy is recognised as a vital part of people’s diet and general health across the life stages, indispensable to Ireland’s social and economic well-being,” she said.
Dairy farming in Ireland is more than just a business, however. It is a way of life, a craft handed down by parents and grandparents, including those who once tapped their feet to the music of the Mitchelstown Creameries programme on Radio Éireann before returning to their work in the fields and elsewhere with lifted spirits and a spring in their step.
