At over 50m litres, the drop in April milk supply is even higher than reported by co-ops to the Irish Farmers Journal at the end of last month.

While milk production was ahead of previous years in January and February, it levelled with 2017 in March and fell 5.9% behind for April, according to CSO figures. Total milk production for the first four months of this year has now fallen behind that of the same period in 2017.

Loss of income

ICMSA dairy chairman Gerald Quain said the drop in volume would result in a €15m loss to farmers, not counting any impact on constituents. "The loss of income will be compounded by the extra costs incurred in getting through the spring in terms of fodder and feed and it leaves us in a position where we can say, even at this half-way stage, that 2018 is going to be a year of challenges, stress and pressure," he said.

Reduced supply has already resulted in buyers forward-purchasing dairy commodities and such market signals should ensure co-ops don't reduce their May milk price, Quain said.

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