Hundreds of Dairygold suppliers demand meeting with management over concerns

A five-person committee was selected to advocate for suppliers and bring about change within Dairygold at the meeting*

Hundreds of Dairygold milk suppliers are putting a set of demands to the management of their co-op after a meeting in northeast Cork on Monday night.

The meeting was instigated by south Cork dairy and tillage farmer and TikToker Niall Twomey and attracted approximately 300 farmers who filled the function room at the Firgrove Hotel in Mitchelstown.

Over the two hours, many suppliers voice their dissatisfaction with how they say Dairygold is being run.

They raised concerns over what they say is overspending, inefficiency, poor milk pricing and a lack of transparency from Dairygold, while they are also opposed to a proposed update to a loyalty bonus scheme.

Some speakers at Monday’s meeting suggested that suppliers may only be able to bring about change in the co-op by moving to terminate their contracts en masse.

Suppliers at the meeting agreed four demands should be put to Dairygold management; the scrapping of the loyalty bonus scheme with immediate effect, the deferral of this year’s planned capital investment (said to be worth €60m), the removal of the lengthy notice period for those who wish to terminate their contracts and the closure of the co-op’s excess milk capacity.

A committee was also selected to advocate for suppliers. Its members consist of Mr Twomey, Ned O’Keeffe, a former Fianna Fáil TD from Mitchelstown, Tadgh McSweeney from Carrignavar and Eoin Bourke from Kilross, and Nigel Sweetnam, a dairy and poultry farmer from Kinsale.

The group is looking for a meeting with the the CEO of Dairygold, Michael Harte, Chairman Pat Clancey, vice Chairman Donal Shinnock and the board of Dairygold.

“If our demands are not met in this meeting, the unhappy Dairygold milk suppliers have serious further action planned,” Niall Twomey told the Farming Independent after the meeting.

He also said the group is also calling for Dairygold to feature in the top three in the next milk price league and that the co-op’s notice period be reduced to three months.

"We invested into the revolving fund for seven years and we have invested a lot in our herds, while dealing with banding, the Derogation, and a push to reduce chemical nitrogen usage on farms while there is a huge push on clover. We learned in the summer of 2024 that clover will not grow our grass.”

Mr Bourke also told the Farming Independent that suppliers attended the meeting in such large numbers because they are very unhappy with how Dairygold is operating.

“They are after putting us into a situation here we only have 75pc of the milk that can fill the co-op and the financial spending in the co-op is just, I don’t know is it sustainable,” he said.

Mr Bourke claimed Dairygold plans to spend €60m this year despite having debt worth over €140m. He said the co-op is paying an annual interest rate of €20m.

“Their milk price is down in division three of the milk league, it’s frightening,” he said.

“It’s very disappointing because we’ve invested in the co-op.

"The management in the co-op decide where we invest our money and what will give the best return and this is where it has led us to, so management need to answer these questions.”

Dairygold told the Farming Independent the majority of its members have reacted positively to the proposed changes but it is aware of concerns by some milk suppliers over one change in particular, “which links any potential year-end bonus or feed rebates to the level of purchases by a Milk Supplier”.

It said the Scheme is a demonstration of Dairygold’s ethos and belief, that a successful Co-Op is built on a strong relationship of mutual benefit between the Member and the Society. “Milk Suppliers who trade with the Co-Op, contribute to its overall business performance, and should be rewarded.”

A spokesperson confirmed that it has received termination notices from a number of suppliers, but did not confirm how many.

It also said it is meeting with each of these milk suppliers to offer clarification on the change around the loyalty bonus scheme.

Despite the concerns expressed by some members at the meeting, it said in a statement that “Dairygold’s net bank debt remains at a very manageable level, within our Banking Covenants, and our strong balance sheet provides the flexibility to continue to invest in higher margin activities.

“The Society’s capital investment projects over the past 10 years provide a world-class dairy processing infrastructure that has not only facilitated our Milk Suppliers’ expansion ambitions but also provides the foundation for higher value processing and more sustainable and lower emission operations, which will pay dividends into the future.

"Dairygold has continually been a consistently strong performer in the Milk Price league, but it is acknowledged that the returns from an element of our product portfolio, have been challenged in 2024. As normal, the overall financial performance for 2024 is currently being finalised and will be reviewed by the Board, to determine the final position for 2024.”

Reporting on:independent.ie