Dairy farmer: Con O’Leary milks 130 cows on his farm in Donaghamore in Co Cork:
“But it has worked through that the milk price has increased since last spring and that has offset the costs. We are making money despite the costs. The concern is where we are going. We are buying forward at full cost now for next year. When it starts to go on the downturn, how much do we need to bank now? People are going to have to look forward.
We are coming out of very high prices because global grain prices are very high as a result of the war in Ukraine. The war is driving grain prices to historic levels. This year has been very, very good. Last year we were getting €180 to €190 a ton for grain. This year it will be in the region of €300 a ton. Generally speaking cereal prices all track one other. Barley is our main one this year and was €200 a ton off the combine harvester last year. This year it is €290 to €300 a ton.