Farmers exiting the dairy sector could lose an estimated €1,770/cow removed, while farmers reducing numbers could lose an estimated €2,910/cow, the Food Vision Dairy Group has claimed in a final version of its report.

The report, which has been seen by Agriland, outlines the potential income foregone for farmers.

The report states that:

It does not indicate what payments farmers could receive if taking part in an exit or reduction scheme.

However, it does state that "securing the level of public funding required to incentivise the adoption of this scheme would be a key challenge".

The Dairy Food Vision Group states that "detailed negotiations at senior political level" would be required to secure significant public funding to support its proposed recommendations.

The report details that the estimated income which "would be foregone" by farmers is based on analysis conducted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), which took into account the following factors:

The report estimates that for every 100,000 dairy cows reduced, emissions could be lowered by 0.45Mt of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent (CO2e).

More to follow....