Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue is urging co-ops to review what they are paying to farmers. A few co-ops have adjusted the price paid to their suppliers who are tied into fixed-price milk contracts, but they are now being asked to go a further.
During question time in the Dáil this past Thursday, 26 May 2022, Kerry Fine Gael TD Brendan Griffin spoke about the fixed-price contract debacle, pointing farmers in the north Kerry region who are under “serious difficulty with huge production costs”.
Minister McConalogue commented that pertaining to supporting farmers with rising inputs costs, the €1,000 payment to farmers under the new silage-support scheme would play a role.
“We didn’t apply that to the dairy sector because we are seeing record prices for milk at the moment and the milk price increase is exceeding cost increases so profits should be strong and activity at farm level, in terms of saving fodder, has been strong. But for the dairy farmers who are on fixed-price contracts for their milk, times are challenging.”
“I would encourage them to consider the issue further because there is undoubtedly a lot of pressure – despite the very strong prices in the general market – for those who are tied into fixed-price contracts.”
He added that his view fixed-price contracts have an important role to play in the dairy sector.