On Friday, the IFA is hosting a meeting in relation to the Tirlán fixed-milk-price scheme. IFA president Tim Cullinan is presiding at the meeting, which takes place in the Newpark Hotel, Co Kilkenny, at 11am.

It will focus on the fixed milk price support scheme, which was one of the three supports Tirlán put in place for farmers with high volumes of milk in fixed-price schemes.

An input support payment made on all milk through 2022 has been widely welcomed.

It remains in place for the first six months of 2023, with a rate of 6.5c/l from January to March.

An interest-free loan, the extended credit scheme, was also created.

IFA dairy chair Stephen Arthur says there still is a lot of confusion around the changes Tirlán made recently to the support scheme.

This is despite Tirlán executives individually contacting every affected supplier by phone in the days leading up to Christmas. However, trust and understanding between Tirlán and some of the affected farmers is poor.

Deadline

Confusion also exists over the deadline for entry into the support scheme.

One farmer reported getting his offer letter on 20 December, the original deadline.

It was extended to 30 December, but Arthur says this still gave farmers no opportunity to get professional advice through the Christmas holidays.

It is understood there may be a limited opportunity for suppliers to enter the scheme.

The main changes seem to be as follows: milk from FM17 is being prioritised for inclusion in the scheme, rather than milk from other fixed milk price schemes that ended on 31 December 2022.

Lower volumes

For 2023, lower volumes than before are being locked into the fixed price support scheme, but at a lower base price of 32c/l rather than the 38c/l in the original scheme.

In 2024, both volumes and price increase, with the base price being 38c/l for milk in the support scheme.

However, it is understood that Tirlán management will not be present at the IFA meeting, as Tirlán has organised its own series of information meetings from 11-18 January.