Hats off to the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) for showing some real back bone this week when it comes to the idea of milk quotas.
The organisation’s president, Pat McCormack, rightly, called out the presentation made by Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) officials to this week’s meeting of the Dairy Vision Group for what it really was – a plan to reintroduce some form of quota system within the Irish milk sector.
And his public outburst certainly made an impact. Shortly afterwards, agriculture minister, Charlie McConalogue, was forced into making quite a hasty response.
But at least we now know the real thinking of government officials, where the future of dairy output in Ireland is concerned. It’s hard not to conclude that production cuts are on the table moving forward.
And if the dairy industry does not stand its ground, quotas – and let’s call a spade a spade – could again become a feature of the dairying landscape in this country.
Green intervention on milk quotas?
I sense that the hands of environment minister, Eamon Ryan are all over this issue.
The Green Party doesn’t get agriculture and the rural way of life that accompanies it. For the most part, its party members are driven by dogma, with science having precious little to do with it.
Green Party vice president in Northern Ireland, Mal O’Hara let the cat out of the bag a few weeks ago when he said that reacting to climate change was all about people like him imposing their political will.
One was left to assume that, in O’Hara’s mind, the application of best scientific principles had little to do with the matter.
Meanwhile, former Teagasc director, Prof. Gerry Boyle sits as the independent chairman of the Food Vision Dairy Group.
It would be really interesting to find out what the term ‘independent’ means in the context of the body’s remit.
Surely, Prof. Boyle will have to get off the fence and come down in favour of the final recommendations that are sent through to the minister’s office. So it will be interesting to see how that all pans out.
In my opinion, it would be sacrilege for the dairy industry to be sacrificed for the sake of dogma on the part of the Green Party cohort in government.
Ireland is home to the most efficient milk industry in the world. And this is the real conclusion that must be arrived at by the members of the Food Vision Dairy Group.
And if those farming organisations feel this is not going to be the final direction of travel, then they should ‘exit left’ before any form of final report is drawn up.
It is wrong, at every level, for Irish dairy farmers to be looking at the prospect, once again, of milk quotas being introduced against their will.