The challenges facing dairy farmers today have never been greater, from milk price volatility, input cost increases and volatility, ever changing nitrate and other environmental regulations, climate change and weather, to name a number of key issues.

The European model of agriculture based on the family farm is a model worth protecting. Unfortunately, our political masters appear intent on dismantling the foundations on which this model is built, and developments in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) only highlight the complete lack of understanding that policy-makers have for the challenges facing farmers. Here in Ireland, the milk price has gone from 56 cents per litre in January to as low as 37 cents today. At the same time, farmers are expected to meet umpteen standards and regulations that seem to change on a yearly basis and become more complex each time.

Our political masters have a decision to make. Do they want environmental sustainability only and wipe out family farms, or do they want to address the three pillars of sustainability: economic, social and environmental? ICMSA is firmly of the view that the EU must address the three pillars of sustainability simultaneously because if we don’t, our family farm model will not survive. This requires a renewed focus on agricultural policy with the central objective of delivering a market price that allows farmers to earn a reasonable living from farming while meeting the required standards, which may mean that society will have to accept consumers paying more for sustainably produced food.

Food prices need to reflect the cost of producing it sustainably, which entails addressing the volatility in milk prices. This is where the EU Commission needs to be much more proactive in terms of monitoring the marketplace and taking early action where milk prices go below the sustainable cost of producing it. At the same time, the Commission needs to recognise that the family farm model in the EU is a huge asset that needs to be protected and supported. When the market becomes unbalanced, a correction is required because low prices fundamentally undermine the livelihoods of dairy farmers. The EU voluntary milk supply reduction scheme in 2016 delivered higher prices within months in a cost-efficient manner. ICMSA believes that a voluntary milk supply reduction scheme should again be part of the toolkit when milk prices come under pressure, helping to deliver a critical price correction in the shortest timeframe.

Currently, the milk price in Ireland is between 37 and 40 cents per litre, a substantial drop since the start of 2023. Unfortunately, input costs have not fallen to the same extent. As a result, some farmers are selling milk below or at the cost of production while extremely wet weather, in sharp contrast to many regions in continental Europe, has added to the pressures on farmers at this time. Dairy farming is going through a very difficult period, and the EU needs to urgently rethink its strategy lest dairy farming as we know it change inexorably for the worse. The sustainability of milk production in the EU has never been at a greater risk.

This newsletter features many interesting contributions from our members. Faironika (or Justine in French), the mascot of FaireFrance, tours the country. In Germany, the INIfair initiative for fair prices calls for a ban on supermarkets and dairies buying foodstuffs at prices below production costs. BDM analyses the national dairy policy in Germany while Uniterre does the same for Switzerland. The MEG Milch Board provides an overview of its activities, including a new brochure. Sveriges Mjölkbönder calls on Swedish authorities to tackle the urgent issues facing the dairy sector, while in Denmark the controversy over Danish cattle exports to Russia lingers.

Pat McCormack, President of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) and EMB Board Member