This article is from page 36 of the 2012-01-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 36 JPG
CLARE dairy farmers have been told to stay tough with the Co-Op and demand that no cut to the price in milk is made over the next three months.
According to the IFA, the local Co-Ops in Clare have “more than enough money” to hold milk prices at a constant level this spring, despite the weakness which crept into the EU and international dairy markets in recent months.
The organisation’s National Dairy Committee Chairman, Kevin Kiersey, said that Clare farmers should stand together and ensure that prices are maintained in the medium term.
“Increased global milk supplies and the economic downturn have clearly impacted international dairy markets in recent months. However, this is a very expensive time of year for Irish farmers to supply milk, and simply too early in the Irish production season to make definite milk price decisions,” he said.
“Co-ops generally collect relatively little milk this time of year, and will collect even less this year because of superlevy restrictions. Most can afford to hold milk prices over the coming months, because they have improved their margins in 2010 and 2011 at times when strong dairy prices coincided with strong milk supplies.
“Irish milk supplies will remain constrained by the prospect of superlevy for the next few months, and with less than usual milk to collect, most co-ops will be able to hold milk prices for the spring, at which point we should have a better feel for the realities of the market.”
Clare’s beef farmers, meanwhile, have been told to remain positive, with prices set to remain consistent or possibly even rise in the months ahead. The ICSA’s Livestock Price Coordinator, John Cleary, said last week that, while prices have not improved following the post-Christ- mas spike, the factory trade has remained solid.“Things are much of a muchness from last week. Prices are high and factories are actively looking for stock to meet their quotas so this all means that farmers are in the driving seat,” he said.
“Farmers, however, should not be simply settling for whatever the factory quotes them for their stock. These places are desperate for stock so those more adept at negotiating can push for higher than the quotes.
“The main piece of advise the ICSA could give to anyone at the minute is not to sell soft. The overall outlook is for a positive eight to nine months for 2012.”