Poll: Should milk production be controlled on Irish farms?

Earlier this year, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Phil Hogan announced a second package of exceptional measures to try and combat the crisis that currently grips the dairy and pigmeat sectors.

One measure of this package was the voluntary milk supply management measure, or Article 222 as it has become known, which allows farmers to to take up incentives to reduce milk production for a limited period of time.

This measure, introduced in the 2013 CAP reform, can be applied in case of severe imbalance in the market, which is the case at the moment in the dairy sector and has never been implemented before. It was signed into EU law in April.

For milk production control measures

Last week, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) said that a Voluntary Supply Reduction Scheme should be implemented in Ireland and across EU Member States.

It has also called on the Irish Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed to implement such a milk production control scheme in Ireland.

ICMSA believes that with financial pressures growing at farm level and with no prospects of improved milk prices in the short term, unprecedented action is going to have to be taken at EU level to bring the market back into balance and to give farmers viable options.

However, not everyone has been in agreement with the body representing Irish milk suppliers.

Against milk production control measures

Incoming ICOS CEO, TJ Flanagan, has labelled the calls for the introduction a voluntary milk production reduction scheme in Ireland as “unworkable”.

He said given the current weakness in dairy markets, and the associated stress at producer level, it’s quite understandable that all parties should seek to find structural solutions to our problems.

Flanagan went on to say that “the argument put forward is that if farmers were paid (perhaps 10c) per litre of milk volume reduced, then the overall reduction might be enough to bring global supply and demand back into line, and lead to a resurgence in milk prices.

“That argument is simply wrong,” he said.

The ICOS representative said that the European Regulation says that such a measure could only be implemented by co-ops (or Producer Organisations) as a voluntary measure, and wouldn’t be a National Scheme.

“In addition, both the Commission and the Irish Authorities had said they will not be funding such a scheme.”

Flanagan said that co-ops ‘have enough on their plates’ trying to sustainably develop their businesses and support their suppliers over this difficult period, without suggesting that they weaken their balance sheets further by funding an exercise, which he said ‘is doomed to fail’.