The annual general meeting of Kerry Co-op was held in Tralee last week and while it ran close to four hours, there was little new information given to approximately 250 shareholders present.

On the outstanding issue of the milk price, an update was given to the room which put the money owed to Kerry milk suppliers at 7.39c/l plus interest.

Those gathered were assured that the arbitration matter would be resolved ahead of talks on other matters with Kerry Group.

There was nothing new announced to the meeting regarding the proposed joint venture or takeover of Kerry Group plc’s milk operations in Ireland.

Jim Woulfe, who has been employed by the co-op as an adviser to the board since April of last year, gave a presentation to the room on the future strategy for the co-op.

According to shareholders spoken to by the Irish Farmers Journal since the meeting, there was “nothing new” in the presentation.

In his letter to shareholders in the annual report, chair of the co-op James Tangney said that there would be a plan ready to put to shareholders later this year, so there was little expectation that anything would be unveiled at the AGM.

The balance of the meeting was taken up with questions from the floor on details on some of the spending revealed in the annual report, such as payments to directors and the more than €1m in spending which was not itemised, as well as questions about whether an offer had been made for Kerry’s dairy operation without the board being consulted.

Away from the AGM, the Munster Dairy Producer Organisation continues to gain members, with representatives telling the Irish Farmers Journal that they currently have “more than 260” signed up already with “more coming in everyday”.

The current membership equates to approximately 150m litres of milk, a representative said.

The MDPO said it has written to Kerry Dairy Ireland CEO Pat Murphy in recent days in order to represent its members in negotiations for a new supply contract, which would be required once the current contract expires in April 2026.

Kerry milk suppliers were told in the most recent newsletter that Kerry will enter “good faith negotiations” with the board of Kerry Co-op and milk suppliers “in the coming weeks” to agree a new long-term supply contract.

While the issues at both Kerry Co-op and Tipperary are very different, any solution to either will require one common thing – a strong relationship with their farmer members.

For dairy farmers, their relationship with their co-op is something akin to a marriage. They are in it through good times and bad. But a good marriage is built on trust and communication. If that is not there, it can fail.

For Kerry, the strain from long-running discussions over strategy were again on display. In Tipperary, the race is already on to keep the suppliers on side ahead of the 1 November notice deadline in their contracts.

How well both organisations have looked after their relationships with farmers may end up being the difference between success and failure.