Dairygold discussion thread

Injuryprone

Sam Kade wrote: »

The plant was running and they were bagging powder, kerrygold brand for Africa, there was no milk going in though which I thought strange.

My milkman told me it was to be shut down for the week for health and safety with trucks vs pedestrians etc.

Farmer Ed

Sam Kade wrote: »

Farmer Ed wrote: »

So was there any explanation why it hasn't been used all summer? An expensive monument to be looking at if its not serving any purpose.

The plant was running and they were bagging powder, kerrygold brand for Africa, there was no milk going in though which I thought strange.

What is even more strange is that there was no steam coming out of that plant all summer. Did they now say how they addressed the issues with the EPA?

Reminds me of someone who has an old trasher and only brings it out and runs it for demonstration purposes. Just at 83.5m its a bit of an expensive novelty.

biblio

Farmer Ed wrote: »

What is even more strange is that there was no steam coming out of that plant all summer. Did they now say how they addressed the issues with the EPA?

Reminds me of someone who has an old trasher and only brings it out and runs it for demonstration purposes. Just at 83.5m its a bit of an expensive novelty.

I thought the updated mallow plant is geared up to make mostly whole milk powder ? Maybe with butter prices up they decided to send milk for skim powder/butter production instead.

Markcheese

Water John wrote:

They should have gone with the sugar factory site. The town site would always have value and less headaches all around.

Have they fixed the waste issue yet?
I used to be near the waste plant one day a week last year and if the wind was coming the wrong way you'd nearly be sick...

Water John

Don't know if its fully resolved, along with a few other issues. But their PR with locals on the issue was really pathetic and arrogant, as per usual.

Farmer Ed

biblio wrote: »

Farmer Ed wrote: »

What is even more strange is that there was no steam coming out of that plant all summer. Did they now say how they addressed the issues with the EPA?

Reminds me of someone who has an old trasher and only brings it out and runs it for demonstration purposes. Just at 83.5m its a bit of an expensive novelty.

I thought the updated mallow plant is geared up to make mostly whole milk powder ? Maybe with butter prices up they decided to send milk for skim powder/butter production instead.

Have they said that? Maybe that is the case?

Seems very strange that production stopped pretty much around the same time as the EPA confirmed they were in breach of their licence conditions and people were calling the radio station complaining about the smell?

Also skim still has to be dried and I thought that plant was built to a standard to allow it make "infant formula". Last I heard whole milk powder is not used in infant formula.

biblio

Farmer Ed wrote: »

Have they said that? Maybe that is the case?

Seems very strange that production stopped pretty much around the same time as the EPA confirmed they were in breach of their licence conditions and people were calling the radio station complaining about the smell?

Also skim still has to be dried and I thought that plant was built to a standard to allow it make "infant formula". Last I heard whole milk powder is not used in infant formula.

Yes, but with high demand for butter and as a result cream prices at all time highs wouldnt it make sense to do the skim powder in Mitchelstown where the cream can be directly piped to the adjacent Ornua butter plant .

I don't know for sure but that would make sense to me or maybe there is some other operational reason. However I do recall steam from the old drying plant in early august.

Hasn't Glanbia's Bellvue plant been closed for the last few weeks too

Water John

Biblio, you are correct. The two biggest plants in the country have been shut and we haven't been overflown with surplus milk that processors cannot process.

BTW WMP is the worst value product to be making with milk. Last resort, usually for peak yield time.

Farmer Ed

biblio wrote: »

Farmer Ed wrote: »

Have they said that? Maybe that is the case?

Seems very strange that production stopped pretty much around the same time as the EPA confirmed they were in breach of their licence conditions and people were calling the radio station complaining about the smell?

Also skim still has to be dried and I thought that plant was built to a standard to allow it make "infant formula". Last I heard whole milk powder is not used in infant formula.

Yes, but with high demand for butter and as a result cream prices at all time highs wouldnt it make sense to do the skim powder in Mitchelstown where the cream can be directly piped to the adjacent Ornua butter plant .

I don't know for sure but that would make sense to me or maybe there is some other operational reason. However I do recall steam from the old drying plant in early august.

Hasn't Glanbia's Bellvue plant been closed for the last few weeks too

When did you steam coming out of the new drier last? I was in Mallow in early July and there was nothing coming out. Have been speaking to a truck driver that passes there a couple of times a week and he hasn't seen anything either.

As for being able to dry the skim in Mithchelstown? Were we not told that the reason Mallow needed to be redeveloped was because Mitchelstown could not cope with all the extra milk? If your theory is correct then clearly Mallow is a bit of a surplus to requirement either way.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Farmer Ed wrote: »

Anyone going to Mallow today? Would be worth asking why no steam has been seen coming from the drier of this new 83m plant since early July?

Not much unusual in plants shutting down. Listowel is not processing much milk atm, most being diverted to Charleville and Newmarket as better returns from their product lines.

biblio

Farmer Ed wrote: »

When did you steam coming out of the new drier last? I was in Mallow in early July and there was nothing coming out. Have been speaking to a truck driver that passes there a couple of times a week and he hasn't seen anything either.

As for being able to dry the skim in Mithchelstown? Were we not told that the reason Mallow needed to be redeveloped was because Mitchelstown could not cope with all the extra milk? If your theory is correct then clearly Mallow is a bit of a surplus to requirement either way.

The newer Niro driers have much less of a visible exhaust plume than the old ones. Some of the older ones have had vastly improved baghouse filters retro fitted which makes the exhaust "steam" unnoticeable.
Niro 4 in Mitchelstown was fitted with the filter upgrades nearly 10 years ago. The exhaust plume which was visible from miles away has disappeared.

Anyway yes I agree with you the spend on Mallow was a bit crazy (in my opinion)

Water John

I think Dg have a history of being difficult to work for and so contractors do not put in a low price, as unexpected changes could lead, to a loss on the job.

White Clover

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Not much unusual in plants shutting down. Listowel is not processing much milk atm, most being diverted to Charleville and Newmarket as better returns from their product lines.

I saw a dairygold tanker going in to Listowel plant on Sunday, so there's surely something happening there.

Farmer Ed

biblio wrote: »

The newer Niro driers have much less of a visible exhaust plume than the old ones. Some of the older ones have had vastly improved baghouse filters retro fitted which makes the exhaust "steam" unnoticeable.
Niro 4 in Mitchelstown was fitted with the filter upgrades nearly 10 years ago. The exhaust plume which was visible from miles away has disappeared.

Anyway yes I agree with you the spend on Mallow was a bit crazy (in my opinion)

I get your point about less of s plume from newer driers. However as the Mallow drier is in the middle of the town and close to the main road the plume was very visible to the naked eye earlier in the year, as indeed the smell was obviously also very noticeable. So much so that the EPA had something to say about it. Question is it A, Did the EPA have something to do with it being shut down or was it B, is the plant is only needed for a couple of months of the year anyway?

Either way considering that farmers were led to believe that their milk may not be processed if this thing was not built and as a result were forced in to five year contracts and revolving funds, share ups,ect, deducted from milk accounts to pay for this thing. Surely there are questions to be answered regarding value for money here? Possibly there is an award winning PR company in Dublin who can answer these questions? Remember the award they won in 2006 for selling us the reox idea? (See attachments especially page 2! How people can be guided into changing their minds! Also note how much it costs to do this!!!)

BJ I get where your coming from,but in fairness there is a bit of a difference in scaling down operations in a plant in Listowel, that has paid for itself a million times over in the month of September and shutting down a plant in early July that has just had 83.5m pumped in to it. Dont forget Dairygold won an award from the cork chamber of commerce last year for being the "Cork company of the year" based on all the money that had been spent and I suspect on the back of the promise of all the extra Jobs it was going to create.

Would also love to know how much it costs to fire up a plant in September for demonstration purposes?

Still you cant take it away from Dairygold they do seem to win a lot of awards.

Sam Kade

There's a fair blast of steam out of it today but they have it going for the tours, I must keep an eye out next week when things are back to normal to see if it's in operation. I could ask the tanker driver but he comes during the night. They say they have 70 lorries a day at peak but you'd rarely see a lorry going in or out the new entrance at anabella roundabout.

Buford T. Justice XIX

White Clover wrote: »

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Not much unusual in plants shutting down. Listowel is not processing much milk atm, most being diverted to Charleville and Newmarket as better returns from their product lines.

I saw a dairygold tanker going in to Listowel plant on Sunday, so there's surely something happening there.

Some of the driers are working but the majority of our milk is going to Charleville and Newmarket atm.

I don't know if that's due to upgrades or products but we have had a few night collections in the last while which we don't normally have as it's being taken further on for processing.

Farmer Ed

Sam Kade wrote: »

There's a fair blast of steam out of it today but they have it going for the tours, I must keep an eye out next week when things are back to normal to see if it's in operation. I could ask the tanker driver but he comes during the night. They say they have 70 lorries a day at peak but you'd rarely see a lorry going in or out the new entrance at anabella roundabout.

I wonder have the leaking silos been replaced?

White Clover

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Some of the driers are working but the majority of our milk is going to Charleville and Newmarket atm.

I don't know if that's due to upgrades or products but we have had a few night collections in the last while which we don't normally have as it's being taken further on for processing.

I'd rarely be passing the Listowel plant so wouldn't have a clue really. Was just passing on Sunday when a dairygold tanker was going in. I'm presuming that milk was collected in West limerick.

Truckermal

White Clover wrote: »

I'd rarely be passing the Listowel plant so wouldn't have a clue really. Was just passing on Sunday when a dairygold tanker was going in. I'm presuming that milk was collected in West limerick.

Indeed it is, Kerry take milk to Mitchelstown that's collected nearby which is a good idea.

Sam Kade

Farmer Ed wrote: »

I wonder have the leaking silos been replaced?

Never heard that, surely the suppliers of the silos would have to replace them.

Farmer Ed

Sam Kade wrote: »

Farmer Ed wrote: »

I wonder have the leaking silos been replaced?

Never heard that, surely the suppliers of the silos would have to replace them.

Gone out of business by all accounts.

Sam Kade

Farmer Ed wrote: »

Gone out of business by all accounts.

Dairygold probably squeezed them to the last. They are changing their store workers every few weeks, the wages aren't great by all accounts.

Farmer Ed

Sam Kade wrote: »

Farmer Ed wrote: »

Gone out of business by all accounts.

Dairygold probably squeezed them to the last. They are changing their store workers every few weeks, the wages aren't great by all accounts.

To be fair my understanding is they were sub contracted in by the main contractor and the whole thing was subject to a bit of a legal dispute. Not sure what the final outcome was or will be.

So you could well imagine how a bit of a stink could arise.

Truckermal

Farmer Ed wrote: »

Gone out of business by all accounts.

BCD engineering gone out of business? That whole story is pure tripe in any case.

Farmer Ed

Truckermal wrote: »

BCD engineering gone out of business? That whole story is pure tripe in any case.

Dont know who made the silos. I was told but the name didnt mean a thing to me. All the guy who told me was of the opinion that who ever they were they had gone out of business. I never said that the people who fitted them had gone out of business. There is a bit of a difference. The same guy told me that he had seen a report of a survey carried out on the silos by another engineering firm that recommended they needed to be replaced.

Now in view of the fact that in June the EPA found a problem at the plant and there has been very little activity in terms of steam seen coming from the new drier over the last few months. Fair to say there must be a reason for the bad smell.

Truckermal

The plant is flat out processing all the time except for these few days, the smell is from the effluent plant located across the road which was never upgraded with the new plant.

Farmer Ed

Truckermal wrote: »

The plant is flat out processing all the time except for these few days, the smell is from the effluent plant located across the road which was never upgraded with the new plant.

So why was there no steam coming out of it? And as someone has already eluded to here there seemed to be very little evidence of trucks around the place. My understanding was that when the place was to be flat out there would be trucks in and out of there every 90 seconds? http://www.pressreader.com/ireland/the-corkman/20150910/281505044996690

So tell me how did they fix the problem with the treatment plant? Id be very interested to know? Up until now apart from a barrage of press releases that had to do with unrelated matters around the same time the EPA found the plant to be in breach of its licence, all we have got is a vague statement saying the issues had been addressed? Indeed according to one of the posters here, a question asked at the open day regarding the matter was greeted with a smirk? Like whats that all about? Farmers including myself have invested money in to this. We are entitled to answers?

I long for the day when I could say its none of my business. But with this carry on I fear that day might never come.

Sam Kade

They are taking a break today after the tours before official opening tomorrow with dr Phil himself. Plant not running today even though the car park is full unless they are doing a park PnP with the car park.

Farmer Ed

Sam Kade wrote: »

They are taking a break today after the tours before official opening tomorrow with dr Phil himself. Plant not running today even though the car park is full unless they are doing a park PnP with the car park.

Careful don't get run over by one of those imaginary trucks going coming out the gates evey 90 seconds. Would love to know how much Pat Keating will get paid to write the press release. He is some man at the old PR fair play. Wonder will he have to venture out of his Dublin basement office for the day? Fair play to Dr Phil having set up Irish water he should know a thing or two about wise capital investments and good corporate governance.

Farmer Ed

http://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2015/02/09/td-phil-hogan-among-none-arrested-for-wasting-e50mn-on-irish-water-consultancy-fees/