The change in milk production rules, which will free farmers to produce milk on land not designated as quota land from next April, has created serious problems for many farmers, according to the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute.
Mr Gerry Slattery from Wexford, who is chairman of the IAVI Rural Practice Committee, said the announcement of the rule changes by the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, has caused confusion. "The old rules which specify that you must have land designated as milk-quota land will apply until next April but the main problems have been in the area of milk-quota leases," he said.
He said many farmers who were ill or retired had leased their milk quotas to others and now face the prospect of having to sell back their quota to the local co-operative for £1.50 per gallon.
"Up until now, a farmer could lease his quota land on a temporary basis and expect to get £150 per acre for the land and 25p to 30p per gallon for the milk," he said. "It now appears that this will change and the farmer can only expect to lease his land for £120 an acre and he will be forced to sell the quota to his local co-operative for £1.50 per gallon." It was difficult to predict how the market would react to the breaking of the link when up until now a 70,000 gallon quota on 100 acres would have delivered an additional £200,000 on the price of such a farm.
"There is a lot of confusion and we would like to see it cleared up as quickly as possible so people can get on and plan their future," he said.
Yesterday, the chairman of the IFA's National Dairy Committee, Mr Padraig Walshe, said dairy farmers were being left in limbo since the announcement of the reforms.
Asking the Minister to clarify the situation, Mr Walshe urged farmers not to be panicked into hasty decisions as the present situation would pertain until April.
Last week, the Central Statistics Office published figures which showed that the average price paid for agricultural land had risen to £3,088 an acre in the second quarter of this year, as compared to £1,584 an acre in 1995.