The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) has welcomed the announced merger between Lakeland Dairies and LacPatrick, but it has warned the two that they must now deliver “for all farmers”.
“The merger proposal being recommended to shareholders by both co-op boards must put the merged entity in the best possible position to optimise dairy processing and pay a strong price to farmers,” said Joe Healy, president of the IFA.
“This is particularly critical in the context of Brexit, as both co-ops have farmer members and processing facilities both sides of the border.”
Much To Prove
These sentiments were shared by Healy’s colleague, and IFA National Dairy Chairman Tom Phelan, who said that “Dairy farmers in the region need to know that the co-operative business they charge with collecting, processing, adding value and marketing their milk is optimally efficient”.
“This merger proposal must convince shareholders in both LacPatrick and Lakeland that this is the way forward,” he said.
Phelan concluded by saying that it is important that both co-ops ensure that farmer members are fully informed of the detailed provisions in the merger proposal over the coming days, to be able to make a properly informed decision on 23rd October.
Lakeland Dairies and LacPatrick Dairies announced earlier today that the boards of both co-operative societies have agreed to the merger, and they will be recommending the proposed merger to their respective shareholders at Special General Meetings which will be held on Tuesday 23rd October next.
The two groups said that the merger will underpin a sustainable and competitive milk price for thousands of dairy farming families north and south.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
