A grass-fed dairy standard that has been developed by Bord Bia must deliver for farmers, IFA dairy chair Tom Phelan has said.
The standard will include 99% of the milk pool from the Republic of Ireland and will require farms to operate under a 95% grass-fed threshold.
Extra margin
Speaking at its launch, Phelan said the standard should only be considered by processors for certain products if it is guaranteed to deliver an extra margin in the marketplace.
“To apply this verified standard for no return would be folly. Processors need to be sure it can be leveraged in the marketplace before applying it to any product lines.
“They must also ensure that the way in which they apply the standard does not devalue any individual farmer’s milk,” he stressed.
Engagement
Phelan underlined the importance of co-ops engaging with farmers before deciding on applying the standard to any part of their milk pool.
“Most global customers generally understand that Irish cows are grass-fed, but some international customers are looking for an official verified standard as others are making similar claims which are based on far fewer days at grass than we have in Ireland.
“The processors must not allow this standard to become the norm.
“It must be used selectively on international markets and it must deliver added value in the chain, which can be passed back to all dairy farmers,” Phelan concluded.
