Irish dairy has a unique opportunity to put its best foot forward

The news that New Zealand’s milk output is to drop by 10% over the next decade should come as ‘sweet music’ to the ears of Bord Bia and everyone involved with the Irish dairy industry.

Our Kiwi friends may not be the biggest producers of milk in the world, but they pretty much control most of what goes on across international dairy markets.

Taking this projection against the backdrop of a fast-growing world population, then it’s not hard to conclude that the prospect for Irish milk prices into the future looks very rosy indeed.

I listened intently to a presentation given by a representative of New Zealand’s dairy industry a few days ago. Throughout his talk, great emphasis was made on New Zealand’s ability to produce milk from pasture; repeatedly citing this as a unique selling point for Kiwi dairy products around the world.

However, making this work requires an ongoing reliance on irrigation systems.

Meanwhile, here in Ireland, we have a ‘rain fed’ farming industry that can lay claim to being one of the most natural food production sectors in the world. Truly, this is Irish dairy’s greatest strength, which we do not take full advantage of.

Promotional opportunity

New Zealand’s admission that it will have to reduce dairy output over the next decade, in my opinion, gives organisations like Bord Bia a wonderful opportunity to profile the superior quality of Irish dairy products to consumers around the world.

So called experts are quick to make the point that ‘it’s all about the markets’ when it comes to determining what price will be paid for a food product.

But ask distillers of Scotch whisky and they will tell you a different story altogether. They distribute to markets all around the world, securing a price that relates to the heritage and the provenance of the products they are selling.

In truth, the world’s commodity alcohol markets are the last thing on the minds of those involved with Scotland’s whisky industry.

And the same principle should hold, where Irish dairy products are concerned. We really do have a tremendously positive and uplifting story to tell the world. It’s all about getting out there and telling everyone about all of this good news.

I used to think that the rain had nothing but a nuisance value. How wrong was I? Yes, there will be some years when too much of a good thing can give us all cause for concern.

But for the most part, the rain that falls from the heavens at ‘no cost’ is our greatest asset. It’s time that we learnt to make best use of it.