Despite poor prices, dairy supplies for 2015 are up in most EU countries, with the level of increase rising through the peak output months of April and May. Ireland had the highest increase, up 5.6% in the first five months; 11% for April/May. Gemany is up 2.3% for April/May, Poland up 3.65%, Spain up 3.6% and Hungary up 7.2%. Overall, production is 0.2% up, rising production in a falling market.

IFA met with Commission officials on Wednesday and pressed for all superlevy funding to be ringfenced to support dairy prices.

“The current downturn is lasting longer than anyone expected, and farmers cannot take any further milk price cuts when so many are already in serious loss-making situations,” Eddie Downey said afterwards, highlighting escalating direct action by French and German farmers.

“A significant cause of the current prolonged market slump is the now extended Russian embargo, which is a result of geopolitical sanctions made by the EU in the last year. Farmers should not be left to carry that burden.”

IFA National Dairy chair Sean O’Leary added: “The EU Commission must realise that carrying out an upward review of the intervention price levels would send a strong message to international dairy buyers that there is a limit to just how low product prices can fall.”

A Commission spokesman told the Irish Farmers Journal that it is not technically possible to ringfence superlevy funding.

There are calls for the intervention price to rise from other quarters. Farm Europe, a thinktank set up by former senior Commission officials, suggests an intervention price of 25c. They describe Irish producers as Europe’s most efficient, but say even they cannot come close to covering costs – reckoned at 26c – at the current intervention price of 21.7c/l

It was set in 2007, when costs, particularly of feed and fertiliser, were significantly lower than they are now.