Dairygold has insisted that a change to its rulebook regarding milk supplies is aimed at removing “unnecessary barriers” for new entrants.

However, the rule change has fuelled speculation among dairy farmers that the Cork-based co-op is open to taking suppliers from outside its current catchment.

The new rule states that Dairygold will take supplies from dairy herds “within any area from which milk is accepted by the society”.

The previous rule had stated that Dairygold would take milk from herds “within any area from which milk is ordinarily accepted by the society”.

Dairygold said the changed wording ensures that the “rulebook definition does not establish any unnecessary barriers to Dairygold accepting milk from new entrants to dairy farming”.But the move is viewed differently by farmers.

At an information meeting regarding the proposed sale of Kerry Group’s Irish dairy business to Kerry Co-op, James Doyle of the Munster Dairy Producer Organisation (MDPO) claimed that “every co-op in the country is looking for milk”.

“Dairygold has spoken already,” the interim chair of the MDPO said, with a massive majority of the co-op’s milk suppliers voting in favour of “taking in milk from outside areas”. This view was also shared by independent financial adviser Brian Leslie - who was previously approved as Kerry Co-op CEO, but never commenced the role.

Leslie told the MDPO meeting in Newcastle West, Co Limerick, that competition for milk was set to intensify as projected supplies were likely to drop into the future. He said this was a factor in “Dairygold opening its doors”.