Bovaer part of the methane solution – Whelan

Despite a negative reaction from consumers to an Arla trial in Britain of the methane-suppressing feed additive, Bovaer, these type of products must be part of the solution going forward, the CEO of Dale Farm, Nick Whelan has said.

“There are absolute lessons here no doubt. It is how we communicate these solutions. We have to bring the consumer along,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal at last Thursday’s RUAS Winter Fair.

Deals for lambs into 700p/kg

Base quotes continue to edge upwards for slaughter-fit lambs with 680p/kg on offer, although that falls well short of the deals paid to farmers.

Factory agents are trying to buy lambs at 690p/kg, but a rampant mart trade and competition from Irish factories means deals of 700p/kg are available to 23kg deadweight.

Finishers handling bigger numbers of heavy, meal-fed lambs are managing to secure an extra 5p to 10p/kg.

Beef

Meanwhile, prime cattle quotes have jumped 8p to 508p/kg, although deals of 520/kg are freely available for steers and heifers, with good-quality cows making 410p to 430p/kg.

Dairy commodity markets slowing

Butter prices fell for the fourth consecutive week at the Dutch Dairy Board auction, dipping €30 to a four-month low of €7,120/t.

There was better news for whole milk powder (WMP), as prices held steady for the third week at €4,430/t, but skim milk powder (SMP) fell by €70 to €2,600/t.

At the final GDT auction of 2024, the index recorded its biggest drop in value since July at 2.8%, with butter down 0.6%. Both WMP and SMP fell 2.9%.

Dairy Council to get milk board money

The Dairy Council for NI is to receive almost £77,000 in leftover funds from the former Milk Marketing Board (MMB).

The MMB ceased trading in 1995, and a residual board was in place until 2004. Since then, DAERA has held all remaining funds from the MMB to cover any outstanding liabilities.

A public consultation on disposing of the leftover funds opened in August 2024. DAERA proposed the money could go to the Dairy Council for NI for promotional work, or AgriSearch for dairy related research.

At Stormont last week, agriculture committee chair Robbie Butler confirmed that “following analysis by officials and with the minister’s approval” it was decided that the money will go to the Dairy Council for NI.

Muir bids for new climate fund for farmers

A request has been placed with the Department of Finance to set up a new funding package to help NI farmers meet climate change targets.

At Stormont last week, Roger Downey from DAERA confirmed that Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir has bid for money for a “just transition fund for agriculture”.

“For the budget exercise for 2025/2026, the minister has put in bids for a just transition for agriculture, so it’s in the mix with all the bids from all departments,” he said.