Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

Ten years ago national milk output was 5.8 billion litres. Last year it was 8.5 billion. So yes, the factories were indeed needed. But you knew that already.

I have no idea what will happen with milk volumes nobody does. Very likely we are over any massive expansion but volumes could rebound next year with a rising milk price and a better weather year.

Coops had no choice but to invest, farmers wanted it.

Can't see a massive collapse in milk pools either, farmers in Ireland are not highly leveraged and dairying for all the problems is the only enterprise that can sustain a full-time wage at the average farm size in Ireland

Why werent the boys who expanded and new entrants made pay for factory expansion afterall the new plant wudnt be needed if it wasnt for those chancers

Lads just arent making money full stop alot of farms are heavily reliant on rented land and if they employ someone both land and labour costs are out of control so its easy to see lads quit

The above is more of a sign, that milk recording is been dropped because of the cost/money not their to pay for it and hassle of it, in a tough year.

Theirs a echo chamber on here re profitability levels in dairying at the minute, and sneering the average dairy farmer whos losing money/breaking even, the 2023 income survey results clearly show this…

Where the blind optimism coming from that their wont be a huge amount of exits in the next 2 years given the amout of stressors in play

The number of dairy farms will drop, how much that affects the milk pools of the coops remains to be seen.

Dairy farm numbers collapsed from the introduction of milk quotas. We Supply aurivo, which came from connacht gold. When NCF merged with kiltogery coop to form Connacht gold in 2000 there were 2200 dairy farms supplying the two coops. Today the same region would hardly have 600 dairy farms.

The only thing that stopped the fall in numbers was quotas going and new entrants starting. New entrants have been incredibly important to the dairy industry . We would have some mess of an industry if quotas stayed and no new entrants star

Agree 100%. I run 72 cows (75 atm) and have a simple system with almost all debt being wiped next year. Have off farm income as well as the cows and let me assure you I'll be running for no exit door. I won't be a millionaire from it but I'll be snug enough.

Talk in the locality was one of the largest operation nearly in the county I'd say going wallop with unpaid land rents and whatnot. Farmer had a name for being mad for cows and doing their stint in new zealand and operating like there in taking green field sites all in rent and building fresh milking and housing facilities on them. Like greenfield but with housing systems. Don't know any more after but for the average joe the name was always mentioned by the thousand acre tillage farmers in opposition for land and the small dairy farmer just keeping their head down.

Labour, development, land cost, machinery, increased hassle it all adds up.

I'm not anti big farmer. Plenty successful people expanded and will flourish. Just don't right off the little lad yet!! And smaller farms will get out no doubt about it either.

Barryroe have taken over a couple of farms lately