'Dem bones' under pressure as Dairygold drops NDC levy

The news that Dairygold no longer intends to collect the National Dairy Council levy from its milk suppliers has put the spotlight on the future of the dairy promotion agency.

Given that the Munster co-op has 18% of the national milk pool, the impact of its decision can only have a serious impact on funding levels for the NDC.

However, Dairygold is not the first co-op to stop collecting the voluntary levy which is equivalent to 0.36c/g. In the past two years Lakeland, Town of Monaghan, Connacht Gold and some of the west Cork co-ops have all stopped collecting it as well.

The budget of the NDC is around €3 million annually and is divided between butter, cheese and liquid milk promotion.

Among other things it was responsible for producing the very popular series of 'dem bones, dem bones need calcium' television ads that promoted the importance of drinking fresh milk. The agency also supports free fridges in schools and produces nutritional information for consumers.

Commenting on the Dairygold decision, IFA Liquid milk chairman, Eamon Bray, said that for its budget the NDC gives good value for money and he regretted the decision of Dairygold to withdraw its support from the agency.