In Ireland, 375 farmers submitted payment application forms for phase 2 of the European Commission’s milk reduction scheme receiving a total amount of over €80,000. Phase 2 covered the period November 2016 to January 2017. The low level of funding allocated to phase 2 is because the majority of the budget for the initiative was used up in phase 1, with Irish farmers receiving €6.5 million for the period from October to December 2016.

Across the EU, 48, 288 farmers submitted payment applications for phase 1 and 2. This equates to a total reduction of 860,000 tonnes eligible for payment at 14c/kg (This is 20% below the planned reduction amount). As a result, at least €30 million out of the original budget of €150 million will return to the general EU budget.

Eamonn Farrell

Agri Food Policy Executive