Farmer Focus: Milk price nosedive put improvements on ice
© Cathal Noonan The past month has brought another 5 euro cents/litre (4.4p/litre) price drop from our milk processor Tirlán/Glanbia, bringing the March base milk price to 44.08 euro cents/litre (39p/litre).
This follows alarmingly close to a 12 euro cents/litre (10.55p/litre) drop in milk price over January and February. As always, farmgate milk price drops like a stone while farm input prices drop like a feather.
See also: Concerns for dairy farmers as milk price cuts cause losses
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Farmers are caught in the middle, supposedly as flexible as an elastic band, while mother nature lines up the crosshairs in the cool April weather to hit the red target that seems to be drawn on our rear ends.
Recently, our farm hosted a bus tour as part of the local food festival. This annual event is always well attended. We’re keen to tell the story of how we produce high-quality milk from grass.
We focused on how we have improved soil health through use of multispecies swards, as well as how we are reducing nitrogen usage through clover incorporation and efficient use of foliar nitrogen.
We told them how we introduced new wildlife corridors across the farm with tree planting to boost the ecosystem services the farm delivers, and we explained how the cows are monitored using technology similar to Fitbits as an additional check on health and welfare.
Children gingerly touched worms in the soil demonstration as we discussed nutrient cycling. By the time we reached the calf in the shed, eager hands were ready to grab the bottle and help feed.
An incredible buzz radiated from the group. There is value in connecting consumers to food production. Will this be reflected in the value of our product?
Supermarkets cutting milk prices as a boost for shoppers has made headlines in national newspapers in recent weeks.
Consumers want cheap food produced, but they want it produced in a Garden of Eden paradise. This is a myth. Someone must take on the cost.
Our farm has continued to invest in improving ecosystem services while the milk price has been favourable. But with the milk price in a nosedive, that latitude for improvement will have to stay on ice.
I’m certain the milk price outlook in the long term is favourable, but until that bottom is reached, the farmer has to prioritise balancing the scales of inputs and outputs.