Return Your Production Reduction Scheme Form by February 3rd

Dairy farmers who participated in the EU production reduction scheme for the October to December 2016 period must return their filled in and signed application forms for payment under the scheme by 3rd February. Forms should be returned to your co-op.

Many co-ops will be sending pre-populated payment forms to farmers for them to sign and return, and farmers are urged to engage proactively if they have not yet received a form. Those farmers who supply more than one co-op should be especially proactive, as they will have to send the application form they get from one or other of their co-ops directly back to the Department once filled in. They need to contact urgently one or both of the co-ops they supply to secure their form, fill it in and return it by the 3rd February deadline

Under the scheme, participants will be paid 14.4c for each reduced litre. However, payment will decrease if they have reduced production by less than 80% of what they committed to do in their application form last September, and no payment at all will be made to anyone who reduced production by less than 20% of what they applied for.

IFA Dairy Chairman Sean O’Leary has urged Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed to ensure that there is no undue delay after that date in making payments to the farmers who have met the conditions of the scheme.