Ger Quain, the association’s Dairy Committee chairperson, said the scheme is “extremely encouraging” and was a “vote of confidence” in dairy industry prospects through peak production and into quarter three (Q3).
The Kerry Agribusiness Forward Price Scheme 19 opened for online applications at 2:00pm yesterday (Tuesday, March 9) and will close at 2:00pm today.
Kerry confirmed the offer price as 34.8c/L (March to October 2021), including VAT, at 3.3% protein and 3.6% butterfat.
The maximum volume that can be applied for is 20% of a supplier’s annual contracted milk volume, suppliers have been told.
The ICMSA said that the scheme offering “shows that 34c/L is a very realistic target for the remaining milk pool outside the ringfenced forward price”.
“This forward price scheme is one of the highest offerings in terms of fixed contracts to dairy farmers in Ireland and sets the standard for where fixed contracts will need to go in the future,” Quain told AgriLand.
Irish dairy farms don’t need to see milk price hitting a plateau that results in the real value or purchasing power of their income diminishing against surging input costs.
“What’s required is a milk price that increases steadily in line with the wider economy and always ahead of inputs. This offering by Kerry is the benchmark for other co-ops and processors,” the ICMSA dairy chairperson argued.
Kerry Group also confirmed that it will be opening Forward Price Scheme 20 (March to June 2022) for online applications tomorrow at 2:00pm. The application process closes at 2:00pm on Friday.
The indicative price for this will be communicated to milk suppliers this afternoon, with the price to be confirmed tomorrow morning.
