DEAR SIR: As someone who has been lobbying for improvements on milk pricing in Northern Ireland, I was dismayed to see the headline in the Irish Farmers Journal of 3 April, namely “Paying on milk solids will mean less output”.

If I hadn’t read the article and realised it was a letter from an interested party expressing concerns about milk pricing changes, I would have been left with the impression that it was a statement of fact, rather than worries about the consequences of potential changes in farmgate milk pricing in Northern Ireland.

As a Glanbia supplier, I am glad that it has taken the lead and introduced new milk pricing terms, which are a first step to achieving proper reward for high solids milk that meets the “market demands” we have been told about for years.

In practical terms, by my understanding, the new Glanbia pricing terms meet Mr Martin’s requirements in that they place a higher value on the butterfat and protein components of milk without any volume penalty.

With this pricing model, I would expect output of butterfat and protein to increase as the incentive to do so has improved, not enough, but it’s a step in the right direction.