Peak-milk-management policy introduced by Glanbia will remain in place until 2024, when it is envisaged that the contentious €140-million cheese facility at Belview, Co. Kilkenny will become operational, a spokesperson has told Agriland.

Among the peak-milk measures announced in March 2020 is a €6.7 million voluntary peak reduction scheme and the establishment of a new category for suppliers under 400,000 litres, allowing them to grow their operation at a rate of 10% each year for the duration of the policy.

The measures were introduced on a temporary basis as a consequence of court proceedings taken by An Taisce against Glanbia and Royal-A-Ware’s joint venture, the company said.

“This peak-supply management policy was introduced as a temporary measure as a direct result of the delay in building this important facility for farm families and the rural economy,” a spokesperson for Glanbia said.

“The temporary policy applies for peak milk in 2022, 2023 and 2024. It remains in place as Glanbia Ireland, along with our partners, focus firmly on ensuring this continental cheese plant is in production for spring 2024,” the spoksperson said.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by An Taisce of planning permission granted by An Bord Pleanála for the Belview plant. This decision has given the green light for the development to proceed.

The Glanbia spokesperson said its project team aims to break ground in the first half of this year on the next stage of the construction.

Judicial costs

While Glanbia would not comment on the specific costs it incurred as a result of the high-profile court proceedings, the spokesperson said:

“There were significant costs associated with the lengthy judicial review process surrounding the appeal of the planning permission.

“In addition, it has resulted in significant extra costs, including income foregone by farmers, construction-cost inflation, legal costs and business disruption.”

In the Supreme Court judgment this week, it was the view of Mr. Justice Gerard Hogan that both parties should pay for their own legal fees. When queried on this, the spokesperson said:

“Glanbia Ireland accepts the provisional view expressed by the Supreme Court that each party should cover their own legal costs.”

Milk production and environment

The continental-cheese facility – once operational – is expected to require 450 million litres of milk, annually, to fuel production.

This milk will come from about 4,500 farms located in Kilkenny and surrounding counties.

The environmental impact of this scale of milk production was one important part of the reason behind An Taisce’s appeal.

Judgment

Included in this week’s lengthy Supreme Court judgment, Mr Justice Hogan noted that “at the heart of the appellant’s objections is its contention that “such is the scale and size of the proposed factory that it will consume very large quantities of milk – estimated to be some 4.5% of the national milk supply in 2025”.

This milk can only, realistically, be sourced by an expansion of the national herd, leading, in turn, to enhanced methane and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, An Taisce argued.

However, Mr. Justice Hogan noted evidence that had been presented earlier in the appeal process, which suggested that this increase in milk production will occur regardless.

And, if this increase in milk production results in increasing GHGs, these indirect environmental effects will not be as a result of the operation of the factory.

Climate-change concern

Despite the outcome of this case, there is no escaping the role of the agriculture sector in reducing our GHG emissions. The recently convened Food Vision Dairy Group, chaired by Professor Gerry Boyle, is testament to this.

One of the group’s first tasks is to produce a detailed plan by quarter two of 2022 on ways to manage the sustainable environmental footprint of the dairy sector.

It also must set out how emissions associated with the dairy sector can be stabilised, and then reduced, with a final plan to be submitted to Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine by the end of quarter two of 2022.

The second meeting of this group will take place later this month.