The ICMSA believe a significant €7 million superlevy saving can be made if milk supplies can be managed correctly for the final days of March.
Commenting on the latest super-levy figures released by the Dept. of Agriculture showing that the country is 1.26% over quota for the end of February, Pat McCormack, ICMSA Deputy President, noted that the state will be certainly over quota at the end of March.
“The only possible way for the super-levy to be avoided is if all farmers do not supply for the final 5 days of the month. This won’t happen as some farmers are still on or under-quota and the same is true for a number of Co-ops around the country. However, some farmers will not supply milk for some of the final days of March and we expect that this will have a significant effect on the final super-levy bill. If half of the milk produced is not supplied for the final three days it would save the country close to €7 million of a super levy fine. The ICMSA are expecting the final bill to be in the region of €8- €16 million but the end of February figure equates to €19.7 million. This means many farmers are going to be hit with a severe penalty and they must engage with their local milk manager in their Co-op to put a plan in place for the remaining period”, concluded Mr McCormack.
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(table by Paul Smyth, ICMSA)