The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD has issued another reminder to dairy farmers of the critical importance of ensuring that their production remains within quota this year. While national production was marginally under quota at the end of January, a repeat of the February/March production pattern from last year will result in a super levy this year. The estimate for the end of February position will be available next week.

The Minister, while acknowledging the continued efforts by dairy farmers and their co-operatives to avoid exceeding the national quota, said that "the responsibility for the management of milk quota rests with the milk producer, whose duty it is to ensure that the enterprise remains within quota".

Minister Coveney once again emphasised that the current quota system would continue to operate until 2015. Despite his determined efforts to achieve an adjustment to the quota regime at EU level, there is not enough support among other Member States to bring about a change at this juncture and the Minister called on farmers to continue to manage their enterprises within quota in the intervening period.

Date Released: 08 March 2012

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