'Whoever is making money, it’s not the farmer': Barley growers left behind as pint price hikes again
Following the Diageo price hike of 7c, the IFA is asking when farmers will see a price increase for their efforts.
Following Diageo’s price hike of a pint by 7c, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) is asking whether these prices will make it back to farmers.
IFA grain chair John Murphy said: “Whoever is making money along the chain to the taps, it’s not the farmer growing the crops.
"This is the fifth price increase in three years. In the same period, the price of malting barley has halved. Irish malting barley prices are determined from the FOB Creil Index, and they fell by 23% alone in 2025.”
Mr Murphy said morale among tillage farmers is very low after three financially challenging years.
“During this period, premium crops such as malting barley helped to support tillage incomes, but the collapse in malting barley prices means this support is unlikely to be there for harvest 2026,” he said.
Diageo is investing more than €250m in a state-of-the-art carbon-neutral brewery in Co Kildare.
“The company needs to remember that locally sourced Irish barley is central to sustainability, but tillage farmers have to be financially viable in the first instance,” said Mr Murphy.
The IFA said it would write to Diageo to highlight farmers’ concerns about the future of malting barley production in Ireland.
