There is every prospect of 2025 being a year of great opportunity for the dairy sector in Northern Ireland.
This is according to the chief executive of the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland (DCNI), Ian Stevenson.
He specifically points to the recent outlook report produced by the Andersons Farm Business Consultancy.
It predict a positive 12 months for dairy, with most of the major UK processors continuing an investment programme.
The DCNI representative explained:
“Whilst greater weather resilience and investment to comply with legislation are likely to be the immediate challenges, Andersons suggest that with demand for high quality milk and milk products appearing to remain strong, this should underpin a profitable future for those who remain in UK dairy production.
“Within the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland, we know that, beyond producing milk, there are many more strands to our dairy sector that makes it such a vital component of the economy, our rural way-of-life and society as a whole.”
Dairy sector
The contribution “made by our sector to the nuts and bolts of Northern Ireland’s economy is vitally important”, according to Stevenson.
“This can be measured in terms of output and job creation on farms but also in terms of the value-added contribution made by the industry at processing level and the beneficial impact all of this has on the wider economy.
“All of this is significant, but it only scratches the surface in terms of what dairy is doing in terms of its ability to deliver so positively for rural communities, the countryside and the environment,” he added.
Stevenson confirmed the future of every sector operating within Northern Ireland’s economy is now centred, to a significant extent, on one word – sustainability.
It is a theme that has strong economic, environmental and social attributes.
But more than this, it is the foundation stone on which change will be driven across every aspect of the economy and society, and the dairy sector will be no different in this regard.
“Recent years have seen major changes in the way that local dairy farmers and processors have managed their businesses with the core objectives of improved efficiency and the implementation of enhanced environmental standards driving these improvements.
“The European Union Sustainable Dairy programme, which the Dairy Council operated in Northern Ireland between 2018 and 2023, helped to showcase and lead discussion on sustainability improvement initiatives.
“But as 2025 stretches out before us, enhancing the momentum linked to these initiatives must take a quantum leap forward,” Stevenson explained.
“Set against this background the dairy sector is committed to telling its sustainability-related story up to this point, while also showing strong leadership with regard to its future obligations in full collaboration with society as a whole.
“And this process is already in motion,” he continued.
Last autumn saw the Paris Dairy Declaration on Sustainability agreed by the International Dairy Federation (IDF) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
This agreement, the formal signing of which was attended by the Dairy Council in Paris, reinforces the dairy sector’s commitment to a sustainable transition of the entire value chain within all dimensions environmental, social and economic.
“We now know that 2025 will be the Year of the Environment for Northern Ireland. It is anticipated that the Stormont Assembly and Executive will officially endorse a Climate Action Plan, covering the period 2023 to 2027.
“The coming months will see the introduction of a new Nutrients Action Programme while further steps will be taken to address the challenges of ammonia and water quality.
“All these developments will have a direct impact on the future development of the dairy sector at both farming and processor level.
“Across each of these levels, the transition to a sustainable future for the dairy industry will require significant investment,” the chief executive explained.
Northern Ireland’s dairy processors are now offering sustainability payments to farmer suppliers directly linked to adoption of sustainable farming practices.
“This is a tremendous example of the leadership the industry is showing as it looks to the future.
“But this cannot be a one-way process. The Stormont Executive must work closely with farmers and processors and their representative bodies, including the Dairy Council, to ensure that the dairy sector can meet its future production, environmental and social commitments.
“In practical terms this means ensuring that agriculture as a whole is sustainably supported into the future. And fundamentally this means that government must officially recognise the key role that dairy plays at both an economic and societal level,” he said.
