A group of Dairygold shareholders has said that they will "not tolerate" any cut to the milk price paid by Dairygold to its milk suppliers.

The Concerned Dairygold Shareholders Committee was originally selected following a meeting, organised by Dairygold milk supplier Niall Twomey, in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork on January 13.

The committee includes Ned O'Keeffe (Mitchelstown); Niall Twomey (Minane Bridge); Nigel Sweetnam (Kinsale); Tadhg McSweeney (Carrignavar) and Eoin Burke (Kilross).

Among the main issues for the group were seeking a commitment from Dairygold to pay "the leading milk price" and the scrapping of proposed conditions around the loyalty reward scheme.

Following consultations with the its regional committees earlier this year, the Dairygold board decided to “amend” the co-op’s updated loyalty reward scheme.

In a statement, the Concerned Dairygold Shareholders Committee claimed that Dairygold "farmers felt that their work was being devalued by the poor [milk] price paid in 2024".

The committee welcomed what it described as the board and management's "commitment" at recent meetings around milk price for 2025.

"The chairman, Pat Clancy and his board have a large body of work to do in a short period of time to build farmer confidence and prove to their families that there is a future for them in Dairygold co-op.

"The rationalisation programme is welcomed but it doesn't go far enough to bring us in line with our competitors. Spending has to be brought back under control and every euro spent must have a return to the shareholder.

The committee added that it would insist the board implement recommendations around committee rules of purchasing and structures and that committee members "will not tolerate" any reduction in milk price in 2025.

"The global market is changing day-by-day and is creating many challenges worldwide. Shareholders want a strong co-op to be able to meet those challenges head on," the group said.

Last Wednesday (April 9), Dairygold reported a turnover of €1.4 billion for 2024, up €10.6 million on the previous year.

The Munster-based dairy co-op said that it delivered “a strong financial performance in 2024, paying a reasonably competitive milk price and a strong grain price, despite facing a challenging environment”.

The processor pointed to the adverse weather conditions in the first half of 2024 resulting in reduced milk volumes and difficult conditions for crop establishment.

Dairygold’s demineralised whey, a key ingredient in the infant food sector, also faced a market with oversupply issues due to reduced demand from China, which in turn impacted milk price.

The Dairygold quoted milk price for 2024 of 44.9c/L, including quality bonuses, Grassroots sustainability payment, and VAT, was an increase of 6.5c/L paid out in 2023.

This equates to a paid price of 52.1c/L based on the average constituents received of 3.6% protein and 4.39% butterfat.

Dairygold chief executive Michael Harte said that the milk price that was paid last year was "really strong" and was around 0.2c/L behind the average of the overall milk processor group from a weighted average perspective.

"We weren't that far behind, but being behind was the challenge. The expectation of our board is that we pay above the average and be one of the leading players for milk price in the country," he said.

In terms of the future outlook for milk price, Harte said that “the overall markets are not too far off the 50c/L at this moment in time”.

The Dairygold chief executive said that global milk supply currently being constrained is positive for the industry and for a strong milk price.

“The big threat over all of this is tariffs and what’s going to be the implications of tariffs. It’s too early to really figure out all of that because of milk flows and where product will be sold going forward,” he added.

Last year, Dairygold collected and processed 1.38 billion litres of milk from suppliers, which is a decrease of 2.1% year-on-year.

The co-op is currently expecting milk volumes to be in excess of 1.45 billion litres this year.

In March 2025, the board of Dairygold approved the implementation of a “Business Optimisation Programme”, which in conjunction with 2025 budget initiatives, will target €14 million in cost savings between 2025 and 2027.

As part of the programme, 70 positions across the milk processing and retail divisions will be cut over the three-year period.

The co-op’s year-end net bank debt was €157.3 million, an increase of €12.8 million (8.9%) on 2023.

This was after investment in capital expenditure of €48.9 million (net of grants) and making the final payment of €13.1 million for 59% of the share capital of subsidiary Vita Actives Ltd.

Michael Harte said that 2024 brought an end to key investments by Dairygold in terms of processing infrastructure.

The new casein plant, which was fully commissioned in early 2025 and replaced a 40-year-old facility, marked the last big investment at a cost of €46 million.

Dairygold said that “overall net bank debt levels remain at a very manageable level”.

Approximately 650 Dairygold members attended a range of engagement meetings hosted by the co-op society across its catchment area over recent weeks.

Eight meetings were organised in response to feedback from Dairygold’s Milk Supplier Census carried out in late 2024 and the follow-up focus groups, both of which highlighted a desire for further member engagement.

The meetings gave members an opportunity to engage with their local board and committee representatives, as well as Dairygold teams who provide support for members’ farming enterprises.