The PR team at Tirlán has been busy. The palaver over the choice of name pales in significance compared to the milk statement saga this week.

The closest comparison would be if a bank posted someone else’s bank statement to you and your statement went to someone else. The issue is compounded by the fact that farming is a small world, so more often than not you will know the person whose statement you received.

The milk statement is a personal document. Not only does it say how much money was transferred to the bank account, it also shows how much money was deducted for poor practice such as high cell count, how much money was deducted for MilkFlex loan repayments or how much was paid from the milk account for trading expenses. All private information. As one farmer said to me, it’s not knowing who has your statement that’s the biggest worry.

The August milk payment was for most dairy farmers the largest milk payment they ever got. For the affected Tirlán supplier, this shambles has taken the gloss off it.