Tirlán has made significant changes to fixed milk price schemes. Suppliers in the FM17 tranche (Tirlán's fixed milk price scheme running from 2021 to 2023) and the fixed milk price support scheme will be able to cap their volumes at 35% in 2023 and 2024.

This will dramatically reduce volumes in fixed milk for farmers, some of whom had up to 85% of their milk committed to a combination of schemes at prices between 31c and 32c/l.

Most of these (the General Scheme, FM15 and FM16) expired in December 2022. FM17 runs right through 2023.

The milk price support scheme was offered to farmers with over 35% of their milk in these schemes. It paid more for milk (40c/l last year), but locked milk at a fixed price until the end of 2024.

Change

Now, Tirlán has changed schemes, so that a supplier will be able to cap their volume of milk under both schemes - FM17 and the fixed milk scheme - at a total combined maximum of 35% of their 2021 annual milk volume.

Volumes above that will be cancelled, with volumes in the support scheme cancelled first. Those volumes will be paid at the Tirlán monthly milk price.

The adjustment will be backdated to January 2023 and reflected in the March milk payment paid in April.

Crucially, the fixed milk price support scheme remains open, with suppliers having until 15 March to join.

This does not affect milk in FM18, the scheme offered last year when high costs had already impacted, and when milk price had started its dramatic rise.

IFA reaction

The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has said that this new measure will provide “some assistance” to suppliers who have high volumes of fixed milk.

After a Tirlán fixed milk supplier meeting hosted by the IFA last month, a number of proposals, including the need to reduce volumes, was presented to Tirlán, IFA dairy chair Stephen Arthur said.

“The co-op took this proposal on board and have acted on it. It is also noted that the fixed milk support scheme deadline has again been extended, this time to 15 March,” he said.

This is an issue that the IFA has being lobbying on behalf of farmers for the last 12 months, Arthur concluded.