Farmers can’t be blamed for the dairy income slump the ICMSA has warned, as it emerged the average dairy farmer is likely to work for less than the average industrial wage this year.
Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan said milk producers had to take their “share of responsibility” in delivering balance to the marketplace as he moved to increase the intervention ceiling.
But ICMSA president John Comer said it was wrong to lay blame at farmers’ doors when the reality was that farmers were being forced to produce more in an effort to simply maintain their income.
“Since the start of 2014 farmgate milk prices are down by over 40pc while the prices paid by consumers for dairy products have fallen by around 2pc,” said Mr Comer.
“The farmers’ margin has been decimated and has been gobbled up by the stronger links further along the supply chain.”
He called on Agriculture Minister Michael Creed to support a voluntary supply reduction scheme.
Income
Teagasc economist Dr Thia Hennessy pointed out the lower milk price in 2015 meant dairy farmers had to increase their milk production by at least 20pc to maintain their earnings.
Dairy incomes are expected to fall by 20-25pc from the average of €63,020 this year due to the volatile world market, with the milk price down by 19pc in the first quarter of this year.
The Teagasc National Farm Survey showed there were 1.4 labour units on family farms, which with a fall in income this year works out at around €35,800 – below the average industrial wage of just over €43,000.
At EU level, the commissioner has proposed increasing the intervention ceiling for skimmed milk powder from 218,000t to 350,000t. Mr Creed told the Dail there was “no magic bullet” to tackle volatility but the intervention move would help put a floor under prices and it would benefit Irish producers through the peak production period.
Mr Hogan also said he was willing to consider using the crisis reserve to top up dairy farmer income.
Source: Independent.ie
