Historic meeting of Limerick dairy farmers in Adare

A HISTORIC meeting of dairy farmers was held in Adare last Thursday, June 27, as close to 200 farmers attended the first public meeting of the newly established producer organisation of dairy farmers – Munster Dairy Producer Organisation (MDPO).

This was the first public meeting of a producer organisation in Ireland.

Coincidentally, some 135 years ago, a corresponding historic event was held 40km south off Adare in Dromcollogher in 1889 with the establishment of the first co-operative creamery in Ireland.

There was a positive reaction from the floor in the Woodlands to speakers and a willingness of farmers to join the producer organisation so as to collectively negotiate new milk supply contracts.

The producer organisation concept is governed by EU law and was “born out of the need to bring in robust arrangements, backed up with EU law, to strengthen the position of farmers to negotiate with milk and other farm products purchasers and food retailers”.

In his address to fellow farmers, James Doyle, MDPO chairperson said that the establishment of the producer organisation was “born out of frustration, desperation and lack of representation in dealing with milk purchasers down through the years”.

“We were  given supply contracts ‘on a take it or leave it basis’ with no negotiation. Current suppliers to Kerry Agribusiness are under formal notice that their  current contracts will end at the end of March 2026. In the absence of a producer organisation, we farmers are left without any body to negotiate new contracts lawfully and collectively on our behalf to take effect in just 22 months from now.

“The principal advantage of an approved producer organisation is that its members are given a licence to negotiate legally binding supply contracts, including in particular price, with a purchaser of farm output, which at present in Ireland is mainly milk and cattle for slaughter,” said Mr Doyle.

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MDPO is now fully established and has commenced signing-up dairy farmers, mainly those who are currently supplying milk to Kerry Agribusiness. The establishment and running of a producer organisation is governed by EU and Irish legislation and certain formalities have to be followed to get a PO approved by the Department of Agriculture.

These formalities and rules have now been met in full by MDPO. It was formally approved by the Minister for Agriculture last April. This work was undertaken by Ciaran Dolan, a practising barrister and agribusiness consultant.

The producer organisation enjoys what is known as “block exemption” from competition law. The EU rules on competition are strict to the extent that they prevent even a small number of farmers coming together to negotiate price with a milk processor.

The core purpose of MDPO is to collectively negotiate the best milk price and supply terms for farmers and MDPO is open for discussions and contract negotiations with any milk purchaser, they say.

The formal recognition of the MDPO represents a watershed in the Irish dairy industry. No longer are dairy farmers on their own where milk purchasers can offer milk supply contracts to individual farmers without any real negotiations and on ‘a take it or leave it’ basis, say the MDPO.

Dairy farmers, who are not supplying a co-op, can now collectively negotiate with any milk purchaser of their choice and agree lawfully enforceable milk supply contracts with the full backing of EU law.  MDPO by getting formal approval will now provide an important negotiating platform for dairy farmers in the Munster region, said Mr Doyle.

“We will collectively endeavour to put that into practice to secure the best possible milk price and supply terms for dairy farmers,” said Mr Doyle.

Current milk suppliers to Kerry Agribusiness and other dairy farmers were invited to attend a series of three public meetings in Limerick, Kerry and Clare, arranged to provide farmers with full information on the role and plans of MDPO, and to provide an opportunity for farmers to sign up as members.