Latest news with #IrishCreameryMilkSuppliers'Association
Agriland
4 days ago
- Business
- Agriland
ICMSA: 50c/L base price ‘fully justified' for May milk
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) has said that a base price of 50c/L is 'fully justified' for May milk supplies. The chair of the association's dairy committee, Noel Murphy, made the comments ahead of milk price announcements for last month from co-ops. He said that co-op boards 'should resist any attempt for milk price reductions for May given the current conditions in the marketplace'. Noel Murphy, ICMSA Dairy Committee chair. Image: Domnick Walsh Eye Focus Murphy said that 'milk supplies globally and in particular in the EU remain constrained'. 'There is no evidence to suggest that milk supplies will increase to any great extent in the foreseeable future while demand for dairy products is strengthening in advance of the holiday period and dairy demand is looking strong in the medium term. 'The Global Dairy Trade (GDT) is higher today than it was at the start of 2025, the average milk price across the EU is at 53c/kg while the Dutch quotations have shown improvements in the order of 2c/L over the course of May,' he said. 'It would be simply unacceptable for milk processors, some of whom are conditioning farmers for a reduction, to cut milk prices to boost their own profits for 2025. 'The reality is that no one else in the milk processor supply chain will be taking or expected to take a cut,' he added. 'Co-op boards are fully justified in insisting that milk price is set at least at 50c/L for May milk and provide dairy farmers with the confidence to invest in their business and for the next generation to reconsider dairying as an attractive option for their future career. 'It is clear at this stage that dairy markets are relatively stable and dairy farmers expect at a minimum that their milk will remain stable or else move up to 50c/L if currently below that level,' Murphy said.
Agriland
4 days ago
- Business
- Agriland
Latest beef quotes described as ‘sneaky'
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) has said that farmers will feel frustrated and disrespected by the 'sneaky' 10c/kg cut in beef quotes late last week. Chairperson of ICMSA's Livestock Committee, Michael O'Connell said the price drop was 'slyly introduced' by procurement staff introducing new base prices from mid-week onwards. 'It's strikingly similar to last year; at the first sign of uncertainty in the trade, factories pull prices by 10c/kg. 'Why does this 'uncertainty' always manifest itself in the form of price cut to the farmer primary-producer?' he added. The ICMSA stated that the only certainty is that beef production is down globally. Noting the record beef prices since the turn of the year, O'Connell pointed out that set against the costs of production and value of store cattle, these price increases were needed. He said that returns for beef farmers in recent years had been very marginal and farmer hopes had been high that this year might see prices provide a 'buffer' against that trend. 'We had hoped that this year would see the kind of beef prices that the market indicated and that long-suffering farmers deserved. But, as usual, factories have 'thrown the toys out of the pram' in an attempt to regain control over the trade with this farcical price cut.,' O'Connell continued. 'When we look at the prices paid to beef farmers this spring, it is perfectly obvious that factories have had the capacity to pay well for cattle when there is a demand. '…In 2019, at the time of the beef protests at factory gates around the country, prices were at an all-time low of €3.40/kg for steers and heifers. Today, we [have] seen base prices of €7.60-7.70 for steers and heifers – more than double. What has changed in this period? 'The answer is the mindset of Irish farmers as well as the cattle herd size across Europe and internationally,' he said. The ICMSA chair said that the numbers of suckler cows has reduced dramatically, while the age demographic of Irish farmers has steadily increased. He stated that farmers are now testing the marketplace by selling factory fit cattle in marts and leaving factory agents and procurement staff to battle it out ringside. Alongside that trend, huge pressure has been put on factories by the increasing number of calves, weanlings and beef cattle being exported into Europe and further afield, according to the ICMSA. 'For the past two or three years, cull cows have insulated and propped up factory throughput. But the latest throughput figures have shown that the cull cow kill has peaked with current figures falling below last year's,' O'Connell continued. 'Young bulls are also falling steadily, but this has been an ongoing trend due to the blatant 'blackguarding' of young bull finishers over the last number of years. 'That group who finished young bulls are falling rapidly at exactly the same time as we see huge developments in live exports. 'And this is where the factories' 'mind games' have caught up with them; they've spent so much time deliberately manoeuvring to keep prices low with reduced kill plans, short weeks and instilling uncertainty in demand that no-one can, or should, believe them.' Reduced kills The ICMSA Livestock chairperson said that reduced kill plans were nothing more than a price controlling measure. 'It creates a sense of panic among farmers to try offload cattle before a further price drop but realistically, it is a method of 'flushing out' the last of the shed cattle,' he said. 'Factories will naturally kill their own feedlot cattle at the expense of farmers' cattle. Most factories are reduced to three to four days per week suggesting that they are trying to stretch out a limited availability of slaughter-fit cattle – and that analysis is supported by the reduction in cow and young bull kill. 'I would urge farmers to sensibly consider their options before giving in to factories and particularly where we're talking cattle off grass. It is very early to kill cattle from grass, with or without feed. 'Cattle may look fleshy and fit, but it is amazing the thrive the cattle would do in the next month, and I believe farmers would be disappointed with returns on these cattle.' The ICMSA is urging farmers, particularly with grass cattle, to consider the mart, as the 'dying power' would not be in these cattle yet. The farm organisation has said that the mart trade this week is ahead of factory trade with beef Hereford and Angus cattle making up to €4.10/kg liveweight. 'No matter what way you add it up, a base price of €7.50 with a breed bonus of 20c and taking your chance on the 'mysterious' grid is not going to come up to €4.10/kg liveweight in the mart,' O'Connell explained. 'Continental steers and heifers are commanding up to €4.30 and up to €4.50/kg in cases of better-quality cattle. I'd really urge those farmers with cattle off grass to consider the marts.'
Agriland
5 days ago
- Business
- Agriland
ICMSA: Farmers ‘on board' with climate change plans
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) president, Denis Drennan has said that despite massive challenges, Irish farmers are engaged in the effort to address climate change. Speaking at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Agriculture and Climate Change conference, Drennan said that the results and data were now 'showing the fruits' of farmers' efforts. Drennan believes that farmers are committed and 'on board' with plans to mitigate climate change. However, he stressed that farmers needed reassurance that those plans still rested on 'the three pillars of sustainability', including economic, environmental, and social. The ICMSA president said: 'There are challenges ahead that will have to be faced, and even leaving aside the very significant and unfair anomalies in the accountancy framework used for measuring emissions, the most obvious challenge is the ongoing failure of government to step up and support farmers. 'It's this failure of the government to support its own policies and recommendations that is hampering even more encouraging results and data. 'Irish agriculture is leading the way globally in meeting the climate challenge and the ICMSA believes that farmers can, and will, do more if properly supported,' Drennan added. Climate change According to the ICMSA president, the government has to stop 'coming up with reasons for not taking action' on climate change. Drennan believes that Budget 2026 should be used to signal a 'more proactive approach'. He also called on the government to 'work with farmers to make progress' on Ireland's emission targets. Drennan said: 'Work with farmers to make more progress ,or ultimately pay the fines that will be levied, because Ireland falls short on the emissions targets that could have been hit if we'd had the support. 'Budget 2026 is where we'll see if the government understands that choice and has made a decision that is logical on both the environmental and financial fronts,' he added.
Agriland
18-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
ICMSA: New EU deforestation law ‘makes mockery' of simplification
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) has said that the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) 'makes a mockery' out of the EU's efforts to simplify regulations for farms and businesses. The aim of the EU Deforestation Regulation, according to the European Commission, is to ensure that goods in the EU market do not contribute to deforestation and forest degradation, both within the EU and globally. The new regulation means that companies will only be allowed to sell products in the EU if the supplier provides a 'due diligence' statement confirming that the product does not come from deforested land or has led to forest degradation. The regulation was set to come into effect at the end of 2024. However, this was deferred until the end of 2025, and mid-2026 for smaller businesses. Despite that deferral, the ICMSA has claimed that the commission will 'have zero credibility with farmers on their much-hyped simplification process…if they proceed with the EU Deforestation Regulation as currently structured'. The chairperson of ICMSA's Livestock Committee, Michael O'Connell, remarked that the requirements of the EDUR are 'illogical, dizzyingly complex, make no sense, and place an unacceptable burden on farmers'. 'It is surely not too much to ask the commission to decide one way or the other what they are trying to do. The new level of administration and form-filling involved in the deforestation regulation makes a mockery of the so-called simplification process,' he said. The vast majority of farmland in Ireland has been declared on the [basic payment] system all the way back to 1994, so there's over 30 years of records along with an inspection regime that means the Department [of Agriculture, Food and the Marine] has excellent data on every parcel of land and its usage. 'What the EU Deforestation Regulation will involve is effectively to ignore all this data and implement a new regime where farmers will have to declare annually where their cattle are grazing or their feed is coming? What about the information that we've been giving them for the last 30 years? Why can't they use that?' O' Connell commented. 'We're being asked to start from scratch again and comply with yet another additional administration system; a whole new regulatory regime that will almost certainly cause serious problems when introduced and which ultimately will not achieve its objective,' he added. The ICMSA is calling for the EU to allow the department to utilise this data and use it to pre-approve or reject farmers under the EUDR for 2026. 'They have the data and it is simply a case of verifying it. There should be absolutely no requirement on pre-approved farmers to submit documentation or otherwise and the produce from their farms should be marketed as normal,' O' Connell said. He added: 'ICMSA cannot understand the logic of the EU Commission of introducing a ridiculously complex system on top of the system that's already giving them the data they need to make the decisions.'
Agriland
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Agriland
ICMSA optimistic that TB meeting will result in ‘focus on farmers'
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) has said that it is optimistic that yesterday's (Thursday, May 8) emergency meeting on TB will result in a 'focus on farmers'. The farm organisation described the meeting as a day of 'intense engagement'. ICMSA president Denis Drennan said that the focus on farmers is likely to become 'more refined and effective' through 'significant amendments' made to the proposals put forward by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Drennan said that the ICMSA has insisted that 'considerable changes' will have to be made to the new proposals if they were going to be effective and treat farmers fairly. The farm leader said that Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon 'seemed to appreciate' this point. 'ICMSA has very serious concerns in relation to specific proposals and we had bilateral engagement with the minister and his officials on the detailed specifics. But we also highlighted several areas not included in the document that demonstrably will need to be addressed,' Drennan said. One of those areas, according to the ICSMA president, is 'the role of other 'players' in animal movements'. 'We also pointed to the impact of infrastructure projects and forestry and the obvious need for a single point of contact for farmers impacted by TB. Quite clearly, wildlife and animal movements play a role on TB and ICMSA is calling for specific time-based commitments on the wildlife issues. 'We insisted that the commitments and obligations on all players must be clearly spelt out and time-lined in the revised document and the science basis for the proposals clearly spelt out. The current document has very specific commitments and requirements for farmers to meet but for no one else,' Drennan said. He added: 'This point needs to be repeated; all players involved, from the department to vets, need to have their obligations and commitments specified and set down with agreed timelines for implementation. For too long, the burden of TB has been placed on farmers alone and this cannot continue.' According to Drennan, the minister undertook to revise the department's current set of proposals and to revert to farm organisations. 'ICMSA expects a speedy turnaround and the tabling of significantly amended, and improved, proposals that will allow the whole sector move forward on the basis of an agreed and proactive approach that will halt and then reverse the current surge of TB,' Drennan said.
