DEAR EDITOR, Congratulations on your insightful editorials in the last few weeks in the Irish Farmers Journal.

Yes, a major change is needed in the dairy industry. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

Copying what the west Cork co-ops have achieved with Carbery Co-op, why not replicate it nationwide using Ornua as the vehicle to lead the processing, marketing and research and development of all the milk on the island of Ireland?

Let the co-ops add value to their other businesses, shops, etc and return profits from other businesses to their shareholders, the same as west Cork co-ops do now.

Take the focus off volume and concentrate on premium. If co-ops pay a premium price, farmers will fill the vats again.