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Partnerships rules confirmed

By Con Hurley

The Statutory Instrument governing Milk Production Partnerships is due to be signed this week by the Minister for Agriculture, Joe Walsh.

Full details of the rules were disclosed at the Master Farmers Conference in Cork last week.

Paud Evans, who is responsible for Milk Quota administration in the Dept of Agriculture, outlined the main rules governing Milk Production Partnerships. (MPPs)

* The partnership contract must be for at least five years.

* The partnership is limited to two partners.

* Partners must be under 55 years of age when the contract is signed.

* The MPP must apply for a new herd number.

* The ratio of quotas supplied by each partner cannot be greater than 4: 1 when the larger quota is under 325,000 litres (71,500 gallons).

* The ratio of quotas supplied by each partner cannot be greater than 3: 1 when the larger quota is over 325,000 litres.

* The holdings operated by each partner must be within 20 kms (about 12 miles) of each other.

* Each partner is entitled to earn up to £15,000 in off-farm income.

* The Farm Apprenticeship Board will be the registration body for Milk Production Partnerships. The FAB will issue Certificates of Compliance, which are valid for one year and must be renewed annually.

Paud Evans pointed out that the objectives of MPPs include keeping family units in operation, better lifestyles for the partners and increased farm income.

"Our objective is to maintain as many farmers and family units as possible in production. I don't think that the conditions for MPPs are too strict. Both partners will have to be very serious if the partnership is to work. We want full-time commitment to MPPs in order to improve farm structure and profitability."

Joe Walsh, Minister for Agriculture said that he expected that partnerships would grow quickly and become a significant feature of the dairy industry.

"Partnership arrangements can help make farming an attractive career with a good lifestyle for young farmers.

"They can also provide access to a viable career for farmers who might find it difficult to survive on a small quota. Partnerships should also enhance the profitability of milk production as well as improving the structure of the industry at production level."

Padraig Walshe, chairman of the IFA Dairy Committee, said Milk Production Partnerships would help alleviate the difficulties created on many dairy farms by the shortage of family labour and the increased cost of hired labour.

“Pooling resources under such partnerships will be particularly helpful for smaller producers, will help improve quality of life and make dairying a more attractive career option for young people,” he said. “However, partnerships will not suit every situation, and will require a great deal of planning and compatibility between the prospective partners”.

Opportunity for farm managers

"This is ground breaking stuff. The allocation of 70,000 litres each for ten qualified farm managers will give them the opportunity to build up equity and climb the farming ladder."

That was how Matt O'Keeffe, chairman of the Farm Apprenticeship Board responded to the Minister's announcement. The provision means that ten managers will be given 70,000 litres - about 15,400 gallons - which they can produce on the farm they are managing. This will establish the managers as milk producers in their own right. As such, they can participate in the various quota schemes in the highest priority categories.

Minister for Agriculture, Joe Walsh said that the scheme is being introduced on a pilot basis. "When the full details of the scheme are available and applications invited, I will be asking the Quota Appeals Tribunal to examine the applications and make recommendations to me. I hope that this scheme is seen as an incentive for committed, young farm managers, who wish to make their careers in dairying."

Padraig Walshe said that allocating 70,000 litres (15,000 gallons) to a number of qualified farm managers would help give those young people a vital leg-up in the industry

"I can see this scheme being widened in future years, and it should open the door to a more flexible allocation of restructuring quota to young people farming at home, allowing them to produce the quota, under certain conditions, on their parents' farm", he added.

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