All farmers need to know where the dairy market is at and what the milk price is going to be like in the short to medium term. This is essential for business planning and budgeting.

Ciaran Aylward, economist with Ornua, will be joined by John Murray, director of meat, food and beverages at Bord Bia, to give their thoughts on where the market is at and future trends in supply and demand.

Farm profit

Profitability from dairy farming was challenged in 2023 and in the first half of 2024 and this has put pressure on cashflow. However, as the session with Laurence Shalloo from Teagasc and dairy farmer Mike Bermingham will prove, 2024 as a whole will be quite a good year from a profit perspective.

However, costs are still stubbornly high and if it wasn’t for good weather and good milk prices, it could be a different story. This is an essential session for all dairy farmers to attend.

Overcoming challenges

There are always challenges in farming and it’s no different now. Improving water quality and finding a sustainable route to market for dairy-beef calves are among the top issues at present. Both will be discussed at Dairy Day with the focus on solutions.

Information on how dairy farmers can draw down some of the €60m in funding under the new Farming for Water European Innovation Partnership will be discussed with the project leader Mairead Whitty and representatives of the co-ops. This funding is there and should be put to good use.

Slurry storage

One of the most-talked about elements to improving water quality is the need to invest in additional slurry storage on farms. The logic being that if slurry can be stored for longer then it will be used more judiciously and at times of the year when the response will be greatest.

With talk of nutrient use efficiency monitoring becoming part of the regulation, making the most of slurry is going to be more important than ever before.

To discuss the issues, we will be joined by Pat Tuohy from Teagasc, Martin Merrick from the Irish Farmers Journal and David Russell, a dairy farmer from Tipperary, who has recently invested in additional slurry storage on his farm to discuss costs, specs and grants.

International perspective

What is happening internationally is important, particularly as we’re a dairy-exporting nation.

To inform the debate, we have invited guests Corrigan Sowman from New Zealand and Auko Sikkenga from the Netherlands to discuss what is happening in their homelands regarding farming trends, milk prices, environmental compliance, co-op structures, milk price and the outlook among their fellow farmers. Galway dairy farmer Kevin Moran has just returned from a study trip to the United States and he will share his views on what direction the sector is going in there.

Technical Hub

New for 2024 is the Technical Hub, an area for visitors to hear from the Irish Farmers Journal specialists team, discuss issues of relevance to them in a one-to-one setting and get updates on new rules, technologies and approaches to living.

Majella McCafferty returns to Dairy Day 2024 and will be chatting to the NDC farm ambassadors about selective dry cow therapy. The full schedule of talks at the Technical Hub is detailed in the table.