Following a year of intensive debate, on 18 January 2025, the federation of German dairy farmers (BDM) held its traditional symposium at the International Green Week in Berlin. Under the heading “Sustainable development of our farms: who sets the course?”, representatives from science, the dairy industry and practitioners discussed the central challenges for the milk sector.

As the new year has rolled in and farmers have settled back into our spring calving pattern, where we calve most of our cows in February and March to coincide with our grass-grazing season, Irish farmers have many thoughts on their minds – much more than the impending arrival of calves and damage from the latest storm. Here are the main issues concerning the members of ICMSA for the coming year.

Irelands new government

In November 2024, Ireland held its general election, and only in January 2025 has the new government been formed. It is made up of a mostly centre political view, with the loss of the Green Party from the coalition, to be substituted by a number of independents being the notable change.This will likely bring a different approach to farming and rural issues, but it won’t be a complete change in direction, as the main two parties are returning from the last coalition. Irish farmers and ICMSA will be watching and meeting with the new ministers and their officials to make sure that policies affecting farmers recognise the practical realities of agriculture today.

Nitrates Action Plan

2025 is the year in which Ireland will seek a renewal of its Nitrates Action Plan (NAP) from the EU. Within that NAP, the derogation to the stocking rate that is afforded to Ireland is a key component. Irish water quality showed a positive trend from initial results in 2024, and it is an encouraging trend that should continue, given the huge effort made by farmers over the last number of years.

The new NAP will be deliberated over in the next twelve months, but it is important to understand the unique system in Ireland. Dairy cows spend up to 300 days grazing grass/pasture and are only housed in the winter months when grass stops growing. The animal waste is spread during the growing season, and in order to utilise the availability of grass grown, an increased stocking rate is required. Without it, there would be inefficient utilisation of grass, farm income losses, and ultimately, a loss of farms.

Generational renewal

Young farmers are the future, and the ability to keep and attract new entrants into our industry is critical. Without them, dairy production will be severely damaged. That is why a “Commission on Generational Renewal” has been set up in Ireland to charter a course and to ensure that there will be farm families in the future. ICMSA has submitted the actions that we feel are required of this Commission and will engage over the course of 2025 to make sure that those policies are at the fore when the time comes for implementation.

It will be a busy 2025, and we hope that it will be a successful one that can secure a better future for our farmers, their farms, and the environment.

Paul Smyth, Executive Secretary of the ICMSA Dairy Committee

The fact that dairy farmers are very dissatisfied has been known for a long time. The Centre for Development and Environment at Bern University has now presented a study that takes a more detailed look at the reasons behind this dissatisfaction.