Lakelands Milk Quality Awards - Farming | farming news | cattle prices | ifa

Lakelands Milk Quality Awards

Written by Cian MacSweeny
Thursday, 31 July 2008
The Minister for Agriculture, Brendan Smith, today presented the prizes at the Lakelands Milk Quality Awards for 2007 in Errigal House, Cootehill, Co. Cavan. Minister Smith thanked Lakeland Dairies for putting together the Milk Quality Awards competition and said that it is one of the highlights of the northern dairy calendar. The purpose of the event is to acknowledge and reward quality and excellence in the production of milk. He said, “Quality starts on the farm and the very high standard in this year's competition reflects the level of commitment and investment at farm level." Brendan Smith continued saying that the benefits of this competition pass on to the consumer due to the promotion of improving milk quality. Minister Smith also commended Lakeland Dairies for their continuing commitment to dairy processing in the region. Recently this was reflected in the awarding of grants for two ventures under the Dairy Investment Fund in 2007. When finished, these projects will improve the production of core and value-added products and will help secure the future of the Agri-food sector in this area. The Minister made note that the Health Check of the CAP is of great importance with regard to the development of the Irish Dairy sector. The purpose of the Health Check has to be to present a soft landing for the ending of milk quotas. This means that dairy producers and processors will have the opportunity to avail of growing markets for higher value-added products. Brendan Smith said that changes to the Milk Quota Trading Scheme in 2008 had a beneficial impact for suppliers in areas that had previously experienced problems, such as Lakelands. The 2009/2010 quota scheme is nearly ready and the Minister announced that the closing date for applications for the next stage will be the 1st October 2008. Minister Brendan Smith concluded by noting the importance of quality milk production and commended all the participants in the awards competition, and Lakeland's continued commitment to agri-food production in the area.

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