Real anger, but few solutions in Cork

A new generation of dairy farmers are questioning whether they have any debt of loyalty to their co-op, and whether their co-op has shown enough loyalty to them.

The Dealer

15 January 2025

A packed house for the meeting of Dairygold suppliers in the Firgrove Hotel, Mitchelstown, Co Cork on Monday night. \ Caitríona Morrissey

It’s fair to say there was a lot of anger in the room when Dairygold farmers congregated on Monday night. The trigger was linking co-op trading with the ‘end of year’ milk price bonus payment. A close cousin of this system has been in place in Tirlán for some time now, much to the disgruntlement of some farmers, who are particularly annoyed that it is often described as an element of milk price.

It’s fair to say there was a lot of anger in the room when Dairygold farmers congregated on Monday night.

The trigger was linking co-op trading with the ‘end of year’ milk price bonus payment. A close cousin of this system has been in place in Tirlán for some time now, much to the disgruntlement of some farmers, who are particularly annoyed that it is often described as an element of milk price.

Up to now in Dairygold the end-of-year ‘top-up’ has been paid without any trading links. “The two sides of the co-op, milk processing and input supply, should operate independently” a letter circulated in December by the organisers of Monday’s meeting stated.

It is perhaps significant that the strongest opposition to bonus payments linked to input purchases and incorporated into milk prices have been in the two co-ops where there is most competition to sell inputs to farmers.

The Tirlán and Dairygold catchment regions have the highest concentration of independent farm supply providers, in part due to the amount of tillage farming and grain merchants there.

Kerry, Aurivo, Lakeland and Carbery suppliers are not spoiled for choice on their doorstep in the same way.

Monday night’s meeting had a lot in common with the Just Farmers group meeting held this time last year in Wexford by disaffected Tirlán suppliers.

A huge turnout, a very loose agenda asserting that their co-op was being run for the benefit of itself rather than supplier/shareholders.

There was disaffection with both co-op board and council representatives and the farm organisations, with the accusation that they aren’t getting the best prices for farmers and not fighting what can be loosely called “the climate agenda” against dairy farming vigorously enough.

Both meetings were also notable for the high proportion of young dairy farmers present. This cohort is usually seen in large numbers at discussion group meetings, Moorepark open days, or Irish Grassland Association farm walks. They are not very engaged in co-op politics, and it was evident on Monday, with a lack of understanding as to how things actually work sometimes displayed in the contributions.

But there is a world of difference between highlighting the failures of farmer representation and coming up with a strategy that will deliver better outcomes. Will this cohort of farmers work internally to effect change, or will they vote with their feet?

That December letter included a suggestion that farmers consider serving notice to terminate supply to Dairygold. This echoes the Munster Dairy Producer Organisation which supplies Kerry, and who are threatening to leave en masse in 2026 for pasteurisers new.

There’s no doubt that co-ops have a job of work in 2025 to more closely engage with the new generation of suppliers, who only know the post-quota era. With Irish milk output having peaked due to environmental restrictions, the power dynamic between processors and suppliers has rebalanced.