Dairy farmers supplying Glanbia will not be hit with any peak milk penalties in 2022, the co-op has announced.

With milk supplies for the year to date running 2.3% behind last year and with additional processing capacity in place this year, the co-op has decided not to penalise any farmer that exceeds their peak milk allocation.

The co-op had previously announced that it was increasing the amount of milk allocated for the peak months to each supplier’s 2023 level and foregoing the first €500 of any penalty for suppliers producing more than their allocation for April only.

However, it was still pressing ahead with plans to deduct 30% of the milk price for additional volumes produced over and above peak milk allocation.

Wednesday’s announcement means that is no longer happening for 2022.

Appropriate

Glanbia Co-op chair John Murphy said: “We believe that the suspension of penalties for April, May and June of 2022 is appropriate given the latest milk supply forecasts and the fact that we have available milk processing capacity as we approach peak.

“Investments in our facilities mean that we can handle additional milk volume this year compared to last year. However, milk supply volumes remain lower than last year, so we believe that it is now appropriate to remove the threat of any penalty for oversupply in the peak period in 2022,” he said.

The peak milk management policy will apply for 2023 and 2024.