Fermanagh brothers, Brian & Stephen Johnston of Ballinamallard, were named the overall Northern Ireland winners amid stiff competition at the Lakeland Dairies Milk Quality Awards.
The awards were presented by the Irish Minister for Food and Horticulture, Mr Brendan Smith TD, along with Mike Magan, Chairman of Lakeland Dairies at a gala function in Cavan.
The Lakeland Dairies Supreme Milk Quality Award Winners were Tom, Alan and Samuel Clarke, representing three generations of the same farming family from Virginia, Co. Cavan.
Speaking at the Awards Ceremony Lakeland Dairies Chief Executive, Michael Hanley said milk producers faced a major burden of administration on their farms including the issue of cross compliance with multiple regulations. "When you add to that the prospect of unannounced inspections, which can be an intimidating prospect for farmers, I believe the pendulum has swung too far as regards enforcement. We instead need a system which goes some way in partnership to achieve the desired ends.
"Suggestions that the EU will simplify cross compliance inspections are welcome," said Michael Hanley. "There is room for a lot more common sense to prevail, including the manner in which inspections are carried out. For example, it is reasonable to expect that a busy farm should receive some advance notice of an inspection and, instead of fines for minor infringements, they should be written to requesting improvements to be made where necessary. That would be a more civilised approach to adopt in a sector which is already hard pressed enough in terms of the pressures that exist on the dairy industry."
MARKETS
Commenting on the markets for dairy products, Mr. Hanley said conditions have been very volatile in recent years. "I am very pleased to see some level of balance returning to the markets this year. Returns have improved and, while it remains to be seen how long-term that will be, it appears that 2007 is going to be a better year for dairy farmers. That is very much to be welcomed."
"The Irish dairy industry faces greater exposure to world market pricing and the global pressure is for downward pricing. That means there will be increasing competition from other dairy producing countries and our industry needs to be lean and competitive for that in the future. It is for those very reasons that Lakeland has put in place a major restructuring programme to cut costs, increase efficiencies and to ensure that we can pay the highest possible milk price to producers in the future. That milk price goal must also remain in line with market conditions and we must continue to ensure the re-investment of some of our margins back into the business."
EXCELLENCE
Turning to the award recipients, Lakeland Dairies Chairman Mike Magan said it is important to recognise the achievements of farmers who are committed to efficiency and quality in everything they do. "Lakeland needs to be able to provide a guarantee to customers about our products. We need to be able to trace quality throughout the food chain. The winners here today understand that requirement. We could not be successful without the total quality commitment of all our producers. The excellence of our products signals that commitment on a worldwide basis."
