asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if in view of the fact that there now appears to be no outlet for skim milk in many parts of the country he will make a statement regarding his plans to deal with this situation.
8.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Disposal of Skim Milk.
7.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries what steps he proposes to take to deal with the present serious position regarding skim milk in the creamery areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 8 together.
Within the past year, the prices for skim milk powder on export markets have declined from the high levels obtaining for some years previously, with consequential repercussions on the prices which creameries and powder manufacturers can pay for skim milk. However, in a number of areas where there has been some reorganisation of the creamery industry and diversification of production has advanced, it has so far been possible to maintain skim milk prices at levels which are not far below those ruling twelve months ago.
Production of skim milk powder during the period 1st April to 14th May this year has in fact shown an increase of 7½ per cent over the corresponding period in 1967 and, notwithstanding the current difficulties on export markets, total sales of skim milk powder from factories over the same period were nearly twice as high in 1968 as in 1967.
With the expansion in milk production, the quantity of skim milk becoming available has, of course, increased. However, skim milk powder manufacture accounts for only about one-fourth of the total skim milk supply. Most of the skim milk is used as it has traditionally been used, for the feeding of livestock. There can be no doubt that in present circumstances it is more profitable for farmers to use skim milk for feeding calves and pigs rather than to sell it for powder manufacture. Indeed, present difficulties in regard to the disposal of skim milk seem to apply mainly in areas where pigs are not kept in substantial numbers and where many calves are disposed of shortly after birth.
I am satisfied that the best way of relieving such problems as exist in relation to the disposal of skim milk is to have the maximum quantities used for livestock feeding, especially for pigs. In line with recommendations made by the National Agricultural Council at its meeting earlier this week I am asking creameries, in collaboration with the advisory services, to take steps to organise, where necessary, the distribution of skim for this purpose. Intensive publicity measures are also being undertaken to bring home to farmers the value of the product for livestock feed. Other matters which I have under consideration include the possibility of arrangements for low-cost bulk distribution of skim milk for livestock feeding and also greater utilisation of skim powder for that purpose on the home market.
Could the Minister say why the full capacity of the milk drying plants is not being used at the moment and why this skim is not being taken up for that purpose and stored in the circumstances of the present time to enable it to be fed to livestock in dry form?
There is only one little snag about that, the cost of conversion. The actual cost of converting skim into powder is as high as £40 a ton and this obviously should be avoided, if at all possible, in the interests of the economy of our farmers. It costs £40 right away to convert a ton, not to mention storage, transport and so forth. It is a very big figure and I am having it investigated to see whether there is any way in which this could be reduced, whether the time factor would have anything to do with it, so that we could reduce the actual conversion costs substantially from roughly £40 a ton. If this were on, it might give us an opening for making and distributing the powder. But to make the powder at that cost, I think, can be clearly seen to be not a very attractive proposition.
In so far as the plant utilisation is concerned, I am not aware of what plants are not utilising their plant to the degree that they might or with what consequences, if this is so, in any particular case.
I understand that the full capacity of the drying plants is not being used at all. In the circumstances of the present time, would the Minister not consider, even though it does cost £40 a ton to dry, that for the sake of the future of the milk industry it might be worth considering doing this?
I should like also to ask the Minister what is being done to push sales of cream in England. Is there any possibility of that because we seem to be slipping rather than improving in sales of cream?
Getting back to the skim milk, the fact is, and this may be a surprise to many, that whatever may be said about utilisation of the existing plants to the full, this season we have been utilising 7½ per cent more skim than we did in the same period last year and our sales of skim are, in fact, for the same period, from the beginning of April up to date, twice what they were in the same period last year.
There is still milk going down the drain.
This is the milk that we hear about and some of your colleagues can write about from meetings they were not present at. It is one thing to say it but another thing to know it to be a fact.
Would the Minister not agree that this is a temporary crisis that needs immediate action? Would he not further agree that if he gives a guarantee to the factories to recover the loss from the heavy subsidisation of those products it would tide them over the temporary crisis and would prevent reducing the price of milk which is in fact what the dairy farmers face today?
Could the Minister say if there is any dumping of skimmed milk or milk powder in this country as there has been in England and the EEC countries?
My information is that there is not. Any milk powder which is used for manufacturing various things here, even by firms who might not have their headquarters here, is not dumped.
I would like to ask the Minister in view of the fact that this situation occurred this time last year and it was obvious in his Department that we would have a repetition this year, why did not the Minister or his Department take steps to encourage dairy farmers to keep pigs or rear calves to absorb this milk? The position is that skim milk is being sent home to farmers who have not pigs or calves to feed it to and this is the reason why it is a problem.
I am quite well aware of the difficulties of farmers in this matter but it should not be put out from here that this is a matter which has followed on what happened perhaps 12 months ago. It should also be fully and clearly understood that the manufacture of powder and so forth is a matter that has developed over the years by way of processing as a byproduct of this skim milk and that we have at no stage discouraged the keeping of pigs or calves. Possibly over the past 12 months I can say I have encouraged people to keep such animals. They have been given a further encouragement, particularly in regard to pigs, in the recent Budget in that we have provided a substantial sum, an additional £1 million.
The price did not increase by 12s. It is still the same as it was last January.
We have, as you know, the highest——
It was 280s last January.
If you do not want to hear, you will not be told.