IFA Welcomes Suspension of Ornua Farmer Levy, but Warns Co-ops They Need to Continue Holding Milk Prices

IFA National Dairy Committee Chairman Sean O’Leary today (Tuesday) welcomed the decision by the Board of Ornua to suspend the 0.14c/l levy on dairy farmers until the Ornua PPI returns to a level equivalent to 30.5c/l incl VAT.

Ornua, as a commercially successful business in its own right, is making with this gesture a useful contribution to the support dairy farmers need at a time when their cash flow is pressured by low milk prices, bad weather, high feed bills, superlevy repayments and other outgoings.

“While this gesture is important, it does not absolve co-ops of the necessity to continue supporting milk prices, and I urge all to hold their March milk price to avoid making what is already a critical situation on many heavily invested farms much worse,” Sean O’Leary concluded.