The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has elected a dairy farmer from Kerry to one of its key roles.
Noel Murphy will take over as chair of the organisation’s dairy committee from Gerald Quain, who has stepped down following the completion of his six-year term.
Murphy milks over 100 cows close to Milltown village and is a Kerry supplier.
The Murphy family has a long association with the ICMSA, with both Noel and his father chairing the county branch at different stages.
Milk Price
The incoming chair said he will continue the ICMSA focus on getting farmers the highest base milk price possible from co-ops.
He paid tribute to his predecessor for “the relentless concentration” that he brought to this area.
Murphy told Agriland that he is hopeful that co-ops will reach 40c/L base milk price for December supplies as markets are buoyant and milk supplies are small.
He said that the ICMSA interactive milk price tracker is “now the accepted industry metric”.
“We anticipated and analysed milk price movements with a degree of precision that showed all of the co-ops that farmers are now perfectly capable of following the markets and calculating minute price movements to at least the same degree, and probably better, than the co-ops themselves,” he said.
Along with milk price, the dairy farmer said that the sector is facing numerous other challenges including climate change and the cost of inputs, such as fertiliser.
He said dairy farmers are willing to play their part to reverse climate change, however they will need government incentives to do so.
“We can’t be expected to do all the heavy lifting but we will play our part, of course.
“The debate around developing our dairy sector in a sustainable way always starts and ends with the interests of the milk suppliers who are the foundation for the whole sector and on whose efforts, everyone and everything else, depend,” he said.
Kerry Joint Venture
Noel Murphy said the ICMSA would also be engaging with the new chair of Kerry Co-op, Denis Carroll, on any possible joint venture deal with Kerry Group, in the near future.
Following his election in December, Carroll told Agriland that he will be consulting with shareholders and milk suppliers before re-entering discussions
Last April, talks between the parties were suspended; it is believed the valuation Kerry Co-op placed on the dairy business was among the sticking points.