The Cost Check calculator to estimate the cost of Somatic Cell Count on your dairy farm was launched at the recent Teagasc National Dairy Conference.

DAIRY farmers will have to prioritise their resources for on-farm investment to fund the estimated €1bn cost of expanding the dairy sector, according to IFA national dairy committee chairman Kevin Kiersey.

DAIRYGOLD will not rush to invest farmers’ money in new processing facilities until it has exhausted all “brown-field” options, according to chief executive Jim Woulfe.

DAIRY farmers can expect to see milk prices remain strong in the medium term, according to Rabobank senior dairy analyst Marina Rebello.

LOW-COST, grass-based milk production is key to survival, the Teagasc national dairy conference was told in Mullingar yesterday.

THE days of milking cows at nine or 10 o’clock at night are gone for the modern Irish milk producer.

THE early abolition of the European Union milk quota may be beneficial to the Irish dairy industry in that it would allow dairy farmers who are eager to expand to do so and possibly facilitate growth in milk production, it was suggested at the Teagasc national dairy conference in Limerick yesterday.

THE numbers of sons and daughters of sizeable farmers who are attending agricultural colleges has declined in recent years, the Teagasc national dairy conference was told in Limerick yesterday.

The chief executive of Dairygold, Jerry Henchy, has said the group must cut up to 1,500 jobs to prevent huge losses over the next four years.