DEAR SIR:

We have read with interest over the last week the contents of the Irish Farmers Association strategy for Irish-produced fresh milk and the associated PR campaign. This ‘‘strategy’’ contains a number of serious and misleading assertions about the Irish milk market. We have been in contact with the IFA, via our legal representatives, to correct the false assertions that they have published recklessly.

With the catastrophic move towards Brexit gaining momentum, these are uncertain times for the entire agri sector in Ireland, north and south. What farmers and consumers are looking for is leadership, action and direction, not scaremongering, inaccuracy and fake news. The report devotes an entire section to Brexit and leads with the utterly misleading statement that ‘‘One quarter of the Republic of Ireland’s fresh milk market is currently sourced from Northern Ireland, and is produced and processed there.” This is incorrect.

We at Strathroy source more milk in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) than we sell into that market. The IFA statement is wholly inaccurate and does a serious disservice to farmers in the south working with ourselves. It is potentially damaging farmers’ livelihoods. The percentage of the RoI fresh milk market that is produced and processed in the north would be less than 5%. The IFA has appropriated the term ‘‘Irish’’ incorrectly limiting the description of products from the 26 counties as Irish. Under the Good Friday Agreement, which is a legally binding international treaty covering a wide range of issues, products from the north are as entitled to be labelled as Irish as products from the RoI.

The IFA stance is completely at odds with that taken by ICOS, which has stated that all produce from the island of Ireland should be labelled as Irish. ICOS has its eye on the ball and is looking towards marketing Irish dairy produce post-Brexit. Meanwhile, the IFA is distracted by short-term local issues of no consequence to the majority of dairy farmers. We ask is the tail wagging the dog here?

The IFA ‘‘strategy’; also states that 75% of fresh milk for the Irish retail market is sourced from suppliers in the south. Again, this is incorrect. These statistics are sourced from the National Milk Agency, which must be required, via the IFA, to back up these figures. It is a fact that Strathroy sources approximately 80m litres per annum from farmers in the south with whom we have built strong valued relationships.

We, at Strathroy, have given assurances to a number of our customers that the products supplied to them use only milk sourced in RoI. The statements on page 10 of the ‘‘strategy’’ cannot be left unchallenged. It is simply wrong and the IFA needs to clarify as a matter of urgency.

Ironically, the IFA report refers to the fallout from Brexit as having a destabilising effect, which would affect the entire dairy scene, including liquid milk. It is incumbent on the IFA and other agencies to provide accurate information and some leadership instead of publishing inaccurate figures and contributing to farmers’ genuine fears. Otherwise, they themselves are having a destabilising effect on the livelihood and economic well-being of the people they claim to represent.