Kerry Group is currently working on a systems issue that impacted the distribution of the 2021 leading milk price payment to certain suppliers.

According to the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) some Kerry Group milk suppliers were “very annoyed” at how the payment, which was issued with the March milk cheque, was calculated.

As previously reported by Agriland, a deal was reached last week between Kerry Group and Kerry Co-op on the long-running 2021 leading milk price issue.

As a result, suppliers were to get a payment of 0.85c/L on all qualifying milk volumes from last year.

In a joint statement, the processor outlined that this is “in satisfaction of our contractual commitment to pay the leading milk price on a like-for-like basis”.

Arbitration is still ongoing on outstanding leading milk-price issues.

Kerry Group payment

The deal for 2021 was initially welcomed by farming organisations, however, it now seems that some suppliers were unhappy with the payment they received.

Chair of the Kerry IFA dairy committee Michael O’Dowd told Agriland that he has been busy taking calls from suppliers in recent days.

He said that some suppliers were “very annoyed” when they were notified of their individual payments.

“The biggest problem is that everyone was expecting the 0.85c/L. But it was paid on the average constituents of Kerry [Agribusiness]. It was never done that way before, it was always paid on a flat rate,” he stated.

“Everybody should get their 0.85c/L, it’s the fairer way of doing it. The farmer that didn’t get the high solids at least he will get this 0.85c/L,” he said.

O’Dowd said that some suppliers believed that the structure of the 2021 payment rewarded those with Jersey-cross cows in their herds, while those with lower milk constituents were being penalised twice.

A spokesperson for Kerry Group told Agriland that the total overall payment is correct.

However, they stated that there was “a systems issue that impacted the distribution to certain suppliers”.

Kerry Group is working on the issue at the moment and it will be corrected in the coming days, the spokesperson concluded.