Price of milk ‘will fall 10% over 10 years after abolition of quotas’

THE price paid to dairy farmers for milk will fall by 10% over 10 years as the EU abolishes quotas, according to the European Court of Auditors.

As a result, small producers with herds of less than 50 cattle will be squeezed out of the market and farmers will be forced to keep herds indoors, the auditors said, referencing a number of studies.

The findings are bad news for smaller Irish farmers, but especially bad for such new EU member countries as Poland, where the average herd size is about three cows.