A letter from LacPatrick chief executive, Gabriel D’Arcy sent to NI suppliers last week has confirmed that the co-op will no longer pay a 0.2p/l bonus for milk coming from Red Tractor-assured farms.

The change will come into effect on 1 January 2018, giving non-Red Tractor-assured suppliers seven months to apply for, and become, quality assured.

After this date, milk from non-Red Tractor assured farms will incur a 0.5p/l penalty.

But effective from 1 January 2019, the letter also confirmed that LacPatrick will require that all milk they process comes from Red Tractor assured farms.

Those not Red Tractor-assured by this date, potentially will not have their milk collected by the co-op.

While the announcement has caused frustration among some suppliers, a spokesperson for the co-op confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that they are facing growing pressure from larger customers, demanding that milk is sourced from Red Tractor-assured farms.

Approximately 72% of LacPatrick’s milk pool is now from Red Tractor-assured farms. Keeping assured and non-assured milk separate during collection is becoming an increasing logistical problem, especially given that customers will not accept Red Tractor and non-Red Tractor milk being collected by the same tanker.

To help producers, the co-op has designated field staff to assist suppliers applying to the scheme, and also help prepare farm records for a Red Tractor quality assurance inspection.

Currently, there is a three- to four-week period from applying to the scheme until a farm is inspected, and finally becomes accredited.