A leading dairy expert has called for the introduction of bonus payments for farmers who produce milk in the March/October and October/November period because of falling production in these months.
Mr Dermot McCarthy, a Teagasc dairy expert, said farmers are over-producing milk in May and June because of increased efficiency and grass production technology, which was "pushing processing capacity to the limit".
"The new trend involves a big reduction in the milking period of spring calving herds. A growing number of dairy farmers are milking cows from March to October, a lactation period of 240 days, compared with the traditional lactation of 280-300 days."
He said increased bonus payments should be offered to farmers to produce more milk in late spring and late autumn and this could boost milk prices and profits for dairy herds with lactations of 280 days or more.
Teagasc, the agriculture and food development authority, had developed a profitable blueprint at its Moorepark, Co Cork, facility for a milking period of 280 days.
Some farmers were calving cows too late in spring and ceasing to milk them too early, resulting in too many cows which were surplus to their milk quota requirements. "A reduction in cow numbers, longer lactations and a reduction in peak milk supply is in the best long-term interests of dairy farmers and the dairy industry," Mr McCarthy said.
Addressing the Teagasc/Connacht Gold Dairy Conference in Ballina, Co Mayo, he urged western milk producers to buy or lease as much milk quota as possible. "Any dairy farmer with a quota of 30,000 gallons or more has the capacity to generate a reasonable income for the future, provided development and expansion opportunities are grasped as they arise," he concluded.