If Irish dairy farmers and co-ops believe our domestic milk production doesn’t have an impact on dairy markets then this is the week to dispel that myth. The extremely difficult weather conditions, which have contributed to a fodder shortage across the country, have precipitated a significant shift in dairy market sentiment over the last week. Ireland is Europe’s third-largest butter producer behind Germany and France, and bigger than some of Europe’s dairy heavyweights like the UK, Netherlands and Poland. As the bad weather and low temperatures dragged on here over recent weeks, butter prices have risen in accordance. Ireland’s growing milk pool is giving us an increasingly important say in market sentiment.