We are seeing a logical shift in some of the world’s most environmentally aware dairy-producing countries.

While sections of the Irish agricultural sector have been consumed with the future of the derogation, allowing key stocking rates to be achieved on high producing dairy farms, the Dutch government has quietly written to the European Commission requesting a continuation of its derogation for Dutch dairy farms.

The Dutch had been to the forefront in restricting dairy cow numbers, though it might be added they now have almost exactly the same number of dairy cows (1.6m in an area the size of Munster) as we have in the entire 26 counties.

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They are now adopting a policy that a critically important part of the Dutch economy and a sector contributing to rural viability is safeguarded.

What isn’t clear at this stage is whether this reassessment of Dutch policy is at least partly due to vigorous rural protests against oppressive environmental proposals that swept the country last year.

The situation in New Zealand is in ways even more relevant from an Irish point of view.

The reassessment of dairying’s future by such key producers should not be ignored in Ireland

The previous ban on new dairy farms has been ditched and while new applications for “conversion” need individual clearance and permission, it’s very clear that we are seeing a realisation by the world’s major dairy exporter that national economic and regional progress must be allowed to continue while environmental standards are observed.

It’s worth mentioning that methane emissions arising from New Zealand bovine agriculture are already treated totally differently from their equivalent in Ireland, but that’s a subject for another day.

The reassessment of dairying’s future by such key producers should not be ignored in Ireland.

What we are seeing this year are convulsions caused by tight supply in the beef sector.

Every year an increasing proportion of Irish beef output is coming from the dairy herd.

The development of sexed semen and the capacity to measure the potential of dairy beef calves is transforming the contribution of the dairy sector to overall beef output.

It’s clear from the latest figures that the destination for Continental-sired calves from a shrunken suckler herd is increasingly the live export trade, with some specialist markets serviced from Ireland.

The trend is very clear and is a powerful argument for being careful in imposing ill-judged limits on Irish dairy output, or in the development of new units.