Tom Parlon, Rejected "pessimistic scenario"
The Irish Farmers Association president, Tom Parlon, has said that he rejects what he called the pessimistic scenario painted in a Teagasc report. The report warned that farmers face a large drop in income unless they respond to the current economic climate. Research carried out by an economist, Thia Hennessy, suggests that incomes could drop by between 30 and 70% over the next seven years. Speaking at a conference in Dublin organised by Teagasc, Ms Hennessy said all farmers would be subjected to a price-cost squeeze over this period; while the value of farm output will remain constant, costs will increase by around 20%.
Meanwhile, it has been learnt that dairy farmers are facing a superlevy bill of £22 million at the end of the month for exceeding their milk production quota. Estimated deliveries at the end of February were 17 million gallons above the national quota.
