Wednesday, 29 July 2026 11:25

Irish Dilemma

Written by  Milking It

OPINION: The Irish dairy sector is facing a new dilemma - maintaining year-round fresh milk supplies.

Ireland's registered liquid milk producers fell by 32 to 1196 in 2024, leaving just 7% of the country's dairy farmers supplying the liquid milk market.

Media reports say registered liquid milk supplies declined 4% to 424 million litres, while annual fresh milk consumption fell by 8 million litres (1%) to 564 million litres.

Industry leaders attribute the ongoing contraction to economic pressures, labour shortages, changing lifestyles and the stronger appeal of seasonal milk production, making year-round supply increasingly difficult to sustain. It's part of a broader trend that the UK's ability to read itself is waning.

More like this

Featured

Carrfields Marks 50 Years as Rural Health Programme Grows

Celebrating 50 years in the rural landscape of Central Canterbury and beyond, Ashburton-based Carrfields, has been the exemplar for all aspects of modern agriculture via its extensive range of services including supply, growing, agronomic advice and marketing.

National

Machinery & Products

Suzuki Launches Jimny Horizon

Suzuki New Zealand has announced the arrival of the latest version of its Jimny SUV, the Horizon special edition, a…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Domestic Focus

OPINION: After hogging the media limelight for telling a NZ Chinese MP to "go back home", Winston Peters has decided…

A No-Brainer

OPINION: With fuel prices soaring, one would have expected most farmers to be reclaiming excise duty on petrol.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter