It is predicted that over the next few months the milk price paid to farmers will break 50c/L, the president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has said.
Pat McCormack said the ICMSA will ensure that every member knows exactly what they’re getting, and what they could have got from every other processor in Ireland, through their Milk Price Tracker.
The comparative tool, developed by the ICMSA over a two-year period, allows members to input their basic data around volume and constituents and see what every co-op in Ireland would have paid them for their milk.
Bonuses and special payments are built into the calculation, and, according to ICMSA president McCormack, industry sources now regularly cite the tracker as the industry standard price-comparison tool.
The ICMSA president announced that work is already ongoing to develop more features that will allow members to get a more complete picture of how much they are being paid and on what basis. He said:
“Putting more information into farmers’ hands is the answer to much of the concerns and anxieties about the future of Ireland’s multi-billion euro dairy sector, and specifically the question of attracting the next generation of skilled and technical dairy farmers.”
McCormack added that the ICMSA focuses on solutions and believes they can master the analysis and technology just as completely as some of the processors and co-ops.
The ICMSA is sure that some of the co-ops resented them placing detailed information in the hands of members, president McCormack said, however, the association trusts in members’ ability to know what they should be getting paid.
“We’re going to go on developing more comparative tools and instruments and getting the real information in front of real farmers making real decisions,” McCormack said.
The latest Milk Price Tracker by the ICMSA and Agriland shows that the upward trend continues following a high start in 2022.