A number of "concerned" Dairygold shareholders are set to attend the co-op's headquarters today (Friday, September 19) to present a letter on behalf of its members.

The group of member suppliers is urging all other member suppliers and shareholders to attend and it follows news earlier this week that Dairygold was dropping its milk price for the month of August by 3c/L.

The Dairygold board decided to reduce the August quoted milk price by 3c/L to 45c/L.

The processor said the price is based on standard constituents of 3.3% protein and 3.6% butterfat, inclusive of sustainability and quality payments and VAT. This compared to a price announced last month for July milk of 48c/L.

The board of Dairygold had already planned to meet with members next week to discuss the drop in the processor's milk price for August.

The Dairygold board and management are convening a member information meeting on Thursday of next week (September 25) in the Firgrove Hotel, Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, set to begin at 2:00p.m.

The meeting is aimed at providing the cooperative an opportunity to update members on the recent significant reduction in certain global dairy market prices, and the related impact on milk price.

Dairygold chief executive, Michael Harte said: “The industry had forecast a decline in dairy market returns in response to increased global milk production, but the speed and extent of the market falls over the last number of weeks has come as a major surprise.

The co-op has said that key dairy products, especially butter and cheese, have recently fallen by well over 3c/L.

It added that these falls are particularly challenging, as they come just after peak milk processing, where the industry has higher levels of stock, exposed to a declining market.

However, some member suppliers will attend the HQ at Clonmel Road in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork today to present a letter with several questions posed.

The group of farmers has stated that the 3c/L price cut for August supplies "has cost the average supplier €1,600" for the month.

They want written answers from the processor to seven questions they have posed in the letter they will present today, which they had previously posed to Dairygold last month, but which they claim remain unanswered.

Stating in the letter that they "only wish for the best performance from our farmer-owned co-op", the questions include:

Full explanation for Dairygold's low base price;
What plans are in place to address the low base price?
Has Dairygold aspirations to get into Division 1 base price?
Is there a plan to make the board more accessible to farmers?
Will the current milk supply agreement (MSA) be reviewed and updated?
Members want open accounts for all subsidiaries;
Explain the "consistent" level of debt;
Why is the co-op using an external PR company and at what cost?
Retract legal letters sent to members in relation to comments made in a WhatsApp group.