Milk markets look set to remain steady over the coming months, according to Dale Farm CEO, Nick Whelan.
The chief executive of the dairy co-op told Agriland: “This is good news for dairy farmers. They work long hours every day of the year: they deserve a period of sustainable returns.”
Recent weeks have seen Dale Farm board members and the co-op’s management team hosting area meetings for farmer-members across Northern Ireland.
Events culminated with a Special General Meeting in Cookstown, at which a number of changes to the co-op’s constitution were overwhelmingly agreed by a 96% majority.
Whelan confirmed that the schedule of meetings gave the co-op’s board members a tremendous opportunity to gauge the mood of the organisation’s milk suppliers.
He said: “The feedback that we received was very positive.
“The Cookstown meeting saw agreement reached on a number of changes to Dale Farm’s constitution, many of which were long overdue.
“These included greater provision for women to have a role in the co-op’s decision-making processes.”
Meanwhile, Dale Farm is confirming a double digit growth in milk volumes since the beginning of this year, relative to the same period in 2024.
“And we have customers for more milk,” said Whelan.
“The recent growth in milk volumes has been brought about by a combination of two factors: the recent strengthening of the milk price to feed cost ratio; and the continuing improvement in dairy cow genetics.
“We are seeing that dairy farmers can and will produce more milk than had previously been anticipated if the proper financial incentive is offered to them.
“And this has been the unfolding scenario of recent months.”
Processing capacity
The increase in Dale Farm milk volumes has coincided with the coming-on-stream of the dairy processer’s new cheddar cheese processing plant (CP2) at Dunmanbridge in Co. Tyrone.
According to Whelan: “The development of the new plant was completed at the end of last December, a month earlier than had initially been envisaged.
“It has the scope to handle 280 million litres of milk per annum. It was thought initially that the plant might reach full capacity by 2028/29. However, the reality is that the plant has been full this peak.”
The co-op CEO said reaching capacity this early is a “direct reflection of the increased milk volumes produced by Dale Farm suppliers”.
“Peak milk is now in the rear view mirror, which means that we can get back to a more normal commissioning of the plant,” Whelan said.
“The sales from CP2 are helped by three patents on our cheddar curd.”
“These innovations are already helping to secure new cheddar cheese customers in countries around the world.
“The full capacity of CP2 currently is 28,000t, which can be flexed further with some investments.”
Whelan said Dale Farm is currently supplying cheese to 46 countries, with new markets opening up in the Middle East, Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco.
“Dale Farm is very confident about its future prospects. And it all comes back to milk. We need more of it.
“And in practical terms this means growing our current milk pool, encouraging new entrants and welcoming new suppliers,” Whelan said.
