The Arctic snap has put severe pressure on milk collection services across the southern half of the country this week, with many farmers told that supplies will not be taken until the weekend.

There have been no reports of farmers having to spill milk due to collection lorries being unable to get to them, both farm representatives and the dairy processors insisted.

However, some farmers in the worst-affected areas of Munster could be under pressure by the weekend if the weather fails to improve.

Truck drivers said they were mainly collecting in low-lying areas and from farms with good access, but they were still getting into difficulties.

Dairygold admitted that its milk collection service was proving “challenging”.

Difficult conditions

“Dairygold covers a large geographical area and due to the difficult weather conditions, milk collection is currently challenging in some areas,” a co-op spokesperson said.

“In advance of the weather warnings for last Sunday, Dairygold hauliers had collected all milk from our milk suppliers. The daytime thaw on Monday allowed for collections to take place and we continue to communicate with both our hauliers and farms so we can minimise any impact on changes to normal milk collection plan,” the spokesperson added.

Although Tirlán had a truck stuck in snow in Wolfhill, Co Laois, over the weekend, the co-op said it had “no major issues to report” around milk collections.

“We collected as much milk as possible over the weekend based on the forecast,” a spokesman said.

“Rigid trucks are being used in a small number of badly affected areas, particularly on high ground,” he explained.

“We would like to thank milk suppliers for their efforts in gritting yards and clearing snow to facilitate collections,” he added.