
ICMSA: 50c/L base price ‘fully justified' for May milk
The chair of the association's dairy committee, Noel Murphy, made the comments ahead of milk price announcements for last month from co-ops.
He said that co-op boards 'should resist any attempt for milk price reductions for May given the current conditions in the marketplace'.
Noel Murphy, ICMSA Dairy Committee chair. Image: Domnick Walsh Eye Focus
Murphy said that 'milk supplies globally and in particular in the EU remain constrained'.
'There is no evidence to suggest that milk supplies will increase to any great extent in the foreseeable future while demand for dairy products is strengthening in advance of the holiday period and dairy demand is looking strong in the medium term.
'The Global Dairy Trade (GDT) is higher today than it was at the start of 2025, the average milk price across the EU is at 53c/kg while the Dutch quotations have shown improvements in the order of 2c/L over the course of May,' he said.
'It would be simply unacceptable for milk processors, some of whom are conditioning farmers for a reduction, to cut milk prices to boost their own profits for 2025.
'The reality is that no one else in the milk processor supply chain will be taking or expected to take a cut,' he added.
'Co-op boards are fully justified in insisting that milk price is set at least at 50c/L for May milk and provide dairy farmers with the confidence to invest in their business and for the next generation to reconsider dairying as an attractive option for their future career.
'It is clear at this stage that dairy markets are relatively stable and dairy farmers expect at a minimum that their milk will remain stable or else move up to 50c/L if currently below that level,' Murphy said.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
'Optimism but no certainty' as Trump and von der Leyen to meet in Scotland
Tomorrow's meeting between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump in Scotland is being treated as a "final negotiating session". According to a senior official in the EU delegation, there is "optimism but no certainty" that a trade deal can be reached. The meeting is being treated as a "president-to-president" negotiating session. It's understood Ms von der Leyen will also be joined by the European Trade Commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, in Turnberry. In the event that a deal is reached, it will be an agreement in principle, with a final document likely to be produced in the days afterwards. Mr Trump spent much of his day today playing golf at his Turnberry resort, ahead of high-level bilateral sessions with Ms von der Leyen tomorrow, and also British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Scottish First Minister John Swinney on Monday. Meanwhile, protests against the visit of Mr Trump to Scotland took place this afternoon. Organised by the "Stop Trump Coalition", the demonstrations were held simultaneously in Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Those involved said that they wanted to convey the message that they did not believe Trump should be welcomed to Scotland. Tight security around the Trump Turnberry course meant no demonstrators were seen when the president took to the greens this morning. Dressed in black, with a white cap that said USA on it, Mr Trump could be seen driving a golf buggy, flanked by a fleet of security personnel, as he played on the famous course which he bought in 2014. However hundreds gathered in both Edinburgh and Aberdeen - near the site of Mr Trump's other Scottish golf resort - to make their opposition to the president known. As the visit got under way Scottish First Minister John Swinney announced public money to support a tournament at the Trump International golf links in Aberdeenshire. The 2025 Nexo Championship - previously known as the Scottish Championship - is set to take place there next month, supported by £180,000 of public funding. Mr Swinney said: "The Scottish Government recognises the importance and benefits of golf and golf events, including boosting tourism and our economy." But Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie likened the awarding of public cash to the tournament to "handing some pocket money to the school bully". Mr Trump will head to his golf resort in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire later on in his five-day long private visit. As part of his trip he will also hold talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, where the two men will refine a trade deal between the UK and the US that was agreed earlier this year. The president is also expected to talk trade with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen tomorrow. But with no talks apparently scheduled for today, the president, who is well known for his love of golf, was free to take to the famous course at Turnberry. A major security operation surrounded him, with police officers and military personnel seen scouring the grounds ahead of Mr Trump teeing off. After touching down in Scotland in Air Force One last night, the president was seen on the course at Turnberry this morning - although security fencing had also been erected around the resort, with road closures also in place to help protect Mr Trump, who last year survived an assassination attempt. Police Scotland has asked for support from other forces across the UK to bolster officer numbers for the high-profile visit - with Mr Swinney appealing to people to protest "peacefully and within the law". In Aberdeen, Green north east Scotland MSP Maggie Chapman told the crowd of hundreds: "We stand in solidarity not only against Trump but against everything he and his politics stand for." Speaking about the US president, Ms Chapman said: "He believes that climate change isn't real, he believes that cutting services for those in the world with the least is the right thing to do. "We say no to all of those things, not in our name, never in our name." With Mr Trump having last year been convicted by a New York jury of falsifying business records, she said the president was a "convicted felon". "He is not welcome in Scotland, he is certainly not welcome in Aberdeenshire," she said. "We know that he is a convicted felon. "We also know that all of the promises he has repeatedly made to Scotland have come to nothing, there hasn't been the development of jobs or houses that he promised when he opened his course in Aberdeenshire a few years ago." Mr Harvie was also critical of the president, saying: "He's attacking our renewables industry once again, one of the success stories of Scotland, and he is trying to attack and undermine it.


Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Trump tells Europe to ‘get your act together' on immigration before US-EU trade talks
Intensive negotiations were continuing on Saturday between the EU and the US before a crunch meeting in Scotland between Donald Trump and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, to avert a costly trade war. Trump spent the night at his family-owned Turnberry golf resort on a private visit, but took time to criticise European leaders over wind turbines and immigration, claiming there won't be a Europe unless they 'get their act together'. 'I say two things to Europe. Stop the windmills. You're ruining your countries. I really mean it, it's so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds,' he said. 'On immigration, you better get your act together,' he said. 'You're not going to have Europe any more.' On Saturday morning, he abandoned a scheduled meeting with the press, who travelled with him on Air Force One, for a round of golf at his seaside course with music blaring from the buggy he drove. Sky News, stationed next to the course, reported the songs included Billy Joel's Uptown Girl, Elaine Paige's Memory and Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water. Billed as a four-day family visit to Scotland, Trump is meeting European leaders and the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, raising hopes of new and refined trade deals with the EU and the UK. People take part in a Stop Trump Scotland protest outside the US Consulate in Edinburgh, as US President Donald Trump begins his five-day private trip to the country at his Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire On the prospects of an EU trade deal, the US president has said there were '20 sticking points'. When asked what they were, he said: 'Well, I don't want to tell you what the sticking points are.' He described von der Leyen as a 'highly respected woman' and said the meeting on Sunday with the EU chief would be 'good', rating the chances of a deal as 'a good 50-50'. It is understood von der Leyen and her aides will fly in on Saturday, with the European trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, arriving on Sunday morning. It is expected the deal will centre on an outline agreement in principle over 15% tariff rates for exports including cars, but with a 50% tariff continuing on steel. There may also be a breakthrough deal on pharmaceuticals, setting a rate of 15% for exports. Although this would breach a longstanding World Trade Organization agreement that medicines are rated at a zero tariff, it would be a far cry from the 200% tariff Trump threatened to impose on pharmaceuticals earlier this month. People take part in a Stop Trump Scotland protest outside the US Consulate in Edinburgh, as US President Donald Trump begins his five-day private trip to the country at his Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire This would have triggered a highly damaging trade war not just with Ireland, where many US multinationals are based, but Germany, Denmark, Belgium, France and Spain. Read More Israeli air strikes in Gaza Strip leave at least 25 dead, health officials say Von der Leyen's spokesperson, Paula Pinho, said: 'Intensive negotiations at technical and political [level] have been ongoing between the EU and US. Leaders will now take stock and consider the scope for a balanced outcome that provides stability and predictability for businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.' It is believed the meeting will be held in Aberdeenshire and will be followed by a series of meetings with Starmer on Monday, with hopes he will widen the bare bones trade deal he struck in May. Trump's arrival in Scotland has required the biggest security operation since Elizabeth II died in 2022. More than 5,000 police and security personnel are involved in the four-day visit with no risks taken after the assassination attempt on the president a year ago. High perimeter fences have been erected around the coastal golf course with naval vessels patrolling the shore while security drones overhead and dozens of security detail staked out the resort early on Saturday. The heavy security presence may be a foretaste of events to come later in August when the US vice-president, JD Vance, and his family arrive for a holiday in the Cotswolds, reportedly in the village of Charlbury. Locals who resisted the expansion of Trump's golf course in the past have asked who would be footing the bill for the security arrangements. - The Guardian


Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘Get your act together': Donald Trump tells Europe to address immigration
Intensive negotiations are continuing on Saturday between the EU and the US before a crunch meeting in Scotland between Donald Trump and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen , to avert a costly trade war. Trump spent the night at his family-owned Turnberry golf resort on a private visit, but took time to criticise European leaders over wind turbines and immigration claiming there won't be a Europe unless they 'get their act together'. 'I say two things to Europe. Stop the windmills. You're ruining your countries. I really mean it, it's so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds,' he said. 'On immigration, you better get your act together,' he said. 'You're not going to have Europe anymore.' READ MORE US president Donald Trump waves as he drives a golf buggy the Trump Turnberry golf courses, in Turnberry on the south west coast of Scotland on July 26th, 2025. Photograph: AFP via Getty Images On Saturday morning, he abandoned a scheduled meeting with the press, who travelled with him on Air Force One, for a round of golf at his seaside course with music blaring from the buggy he drove. Sky News, stationed next to the course, reported the songs included Billy Joel's Uptown Girl, Elaine Paige's Memory and Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water. Billed as a four-day family visit to Scotland, Trump is meeting European leaders and the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, raising hopes of new and refined trade deals with the EU and the UK. [ Epstein saga has exposed cracks in Maga movement which could fatally undermine Donald Trump Opens in new window ] On the prospects of an EU trade deal, the US president has said there were '20 sticking points'. When asked what they were, he said: 'Well, I don't want to tell you what the sticking points are.' He described von der Leyen as a 'highly respected woman' and said the meeting on Sunday with the EU chief would be 'good', rating the chances of a deal as 'a good 50-50'. It is understood von der Leyen and her aides will fly in on Saturday, with the European trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, arriving on Sunday morning. It is expected the deal will centre on an outline agreement in principle over 15% tariff rates for exports including cars, but with a 50% tariff continuing on steel. There may also be a breakthrough deal on pharmaceuticals, setting a rate of 15% for exports. Although this would breach a longstanding World Trade Organisation agreement that medicines are rated at a zero tariff, it would be a far cry from the 200 per cent tariff Trump threatened to impose on pharmaceuticals earlier this month. This would have triggered a highly damaging trade war not just with Ireland, where many US multinationals are based, but Germany, Denmark, Belgium, France and Spain. Von der Leyen's spokesperson, Paula Pinho, said: 'Intensive negotiations at technical and political [level] have been ongoing between the EU and US. Leaders will now take stock and consider the scope for a balanced outcome that provides stability and predictability for businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.' It is believed the meeting will be held in Aberdeenshire and will be followed by a series of meetings with Starmer on Monday, with hopes he will widen the bare bones trade deal he struck in May. A major security operation surrounded the US president's golf round at the start of a five day long private visit to Scotland. A large number of police and military personnel have been spotted searching the grounds at the venue in South Ayrshire. Various road closures have been put in place, with limited access for both locals and members of the media. With no talks apparently scheduled for Saturday, the president – a well-known golf enthusiast – appears to be free to play the famous Turnberry course. However, protests have been planned, with opponents of Mr Trump expected to gather in both Edinburgh and Aberdeen later on Saturday and the Stop Trump coalition planning what it has described as being a 'festival of resistance'. As well as visiting Trump Turnberry, Mr Trump will head to Aberdeenshire later in his visit and is expected to open a second course at his golf resort in Balmedie. As he landed in Ayrshire on Friday, the president took questions from journalists, telling Europe to 'get your act together' on immigration, which he said was 'killing' the continent. He also praised Starmer, who he described as a 'good man', but added that the prime minister is 'slightly more liberal than I am'. Saturday will be the first real test of Police Scotland during the visit as it looks to control the demonstrations in Aberdeen and Edinburgh, as well as any which spring up near to the president's course. The force has asked for support from others around the UK to bolster officer numbers, with both organisations representing senior officers and the rank-and-file claiming there is likely to be an impact on policing across the country for the duration of the visit. Before the visit started, Mr Swinney appealed to Scots to protest 'peacefully and within the law'. - The Guardian and PA