The IFA’s dairy chair, Martin McElearney has stressed the need for milk processors to work with dairy farmers in sharing the financial cost of the current downturn in milk prices.
Since September, the price dairy farmers received has fallen sharply by over 20%, while overall cost of production remains unchanged.
In a statement, Mr. McElearney said: "In the space of three months, dairy processors have undertaken savage milk price cuts, with as much as 10 cent a litre taken off the base milk price.
"Farmers feel completely exposed to these cuts and are rightly asking why they seem to always the first to pay the price when markets decline,” he said.
The Drumhowan man highlighted price volatility is knocking dairy farmers’ confidence.
He said that farmers are asking if processors could have done more to lock in prices earlier in the year, when market returns were higher.
Speaking to Northern Sound, he said that over-supply around the world is causing the problem.
He said: "Ireland sells on the world markets. On the world markets at the moment, there is an oversupply, mainly caused by the US.
"[In the US] cows are on an indoor system, and there is a lot of grain fed. Now, grain is cheap and the US are pumping milk out, and flooding the market,
"We hear a lot about the price of food, that's coming across right around the world. When there's plenty of food there, and there's plenty of options, maybe the consumer buys something cheaper," Mr. McElearney added.
