The Dairy Council for Northern Ireland has welcomed the allocation of £11million to NI dairy farmers that has been announced by the Minister for Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs, Edwin Poots.
The funding is part of £25m that the NI Executive had allocated to assist those sectors that have been impacted by COVID 19.
Commenting on the Minister’s statement, Dr Mike Johnston, CEO of the Dairy Council said,
“We welcome this much needed injection of funds for local dairy farmers, and thank the Minister, and his colleagues in the NI Executive for their support. We appreciate the engagement we have had with the Minister and his officials during this difficult time. The impact that COVID 19 had on the food service sector, globally, triggered a market crash, the speed and extent of which had never been experienced before. In a matter of days NI dairy farmers and dairy processors had to implement new ways of collecting and processing milk to ensure the safety of dairy farmers, those who work in processing plants and their families. This was no mean achievement, and it is a great credit to everyone in the NI dairy sector that all milk was collected from farms, processed and distributed to customers to meet their needs.
“At an early stage in the crisis the Dairy Council recognised the need to have a robust evaluation of the impact that COVID 19 was having on global dairy markets and the effect this was having on milk prices. We engaged EY to produce a Report that we submitted to Minister Poots on 3 June, and we are delighted that the allocation for NI dairy farmers announced by Minister Poots is in line with the findings of the Report.”