ICMSA president Pat McCormack has warned that now the Glanbia Ireland vote has been passed, attention will now move to the board of Glanbia Co-op.

“First, second and last, their competence will be judged on their ability to climb the milk price league from the lowly position they have been occupying for an unforgivably long time,” he said.

“It’s very important that the board understand and accept the responsibility that they asked for, and which now has been granted to them. Their job is to pay the highest milk price commensurate with the prudent direction of the entity,” the ICMSA president said.

“The days are long, long, gone when farmers were unable to establish exactly what their price should be. We have access to exactly the same information as the processors and can analyse the markets just as closely.

“Speaking for ICMSA we will always be open to broader developments that benefit the farmer-suppliers, but as far as we are concerned, milk price takes precedence over anything else. It’s just as well that everyone knows – right at the start of something that we want to be positive for the farmer suppliers and everyone else concerned – that this is the measure by which success or failure will be decided,” he said.