Irish milk production returns to positive figures

Irish milk production has returned to positive figures, given that a rise of 3.6% was recorded in August 2018.

This is according to the latest figures published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

This follows on from a decrease of 3.1% noted in July of this year.

Domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers was estimated at 814.9 million litres for August 2018 – representing a jump of just over 28 million litres compared to the same month last year.

During the eight month of this year, total milk sold for human consumption decreased by 1.8% – to 44.6 million litres – versus the corresponding month in 2017.

As well as this, butter production was up 5.1% to 24,500t, the CSO added.

When the first eight months of this year are compared to the same period in 2017, milk production figures are almost identical.

A total of 5,493.1 million litres of milk have been produced in Ireland between January and August of this year, representing an increase of just 0.1% year-on-year.

Risk management tools

Earlier this week, Teagasc released a report which evaluated the effectiveness of existing and proposed risk management tools in terms of income volatility on Irish dairy farms.

Also Read: More risk management tools needed to tackle dairy income volatility – report

The document by economists from Teagasc, Cork Institute of Technology and University College Cork concludes that dairy farmers in Ireland may require multiple risk management tools to address income volatility.

It assesses the different forms of risk faced by Irish dairy farmers, including: output and input price; production; weather; and animal disease risks.

The research highlights the large increase in the volatility of milk and input prices over the last decade, the consequences for farm income volatility and the limited range of tools available to manage the associated risks, according to Teagasc.