Two lairages in Cherbourg have been visited by the IFA national dairy committee chair Tom Phelan.

The aim of the visit was to assure them that increasing the capacity of their top-class facilities would be a viable business opportunity.

He also wanted to see how the businesses were progressing as they will be a valuable service to the Irish dairy calf exporting sector in the coming spring.

The lairages were also visited on two separate occasions by Phelan and the IFA president, Joe Healy.

Regular contact

Speaking from Cherbourg, he said: “We got to know Mr Pignet and the owners of Qualivia, the Drique family, when we visited last February, and have been in regular contact with them to keep them abreast of developments in the Irish dairy sector, which helped persuade the Driques to seek approval for a 400-calf capacity increase earlier this year.

We believe an additional 800 calf spaces could be provided

“We have also encouraged the operators to consider a further increase in capacity, without compromising best standards, in time for spring 2020. For a relatively small outlay, we believe an additional 800 calf spaces could be provided which would up weekly capacity by 18%,” he added.

Phelan is in Cherbourg with representatives from the Irish Co-Operative Organisation (ICOS) society and Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA).

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