IFA to host online farmer meeting on proposed Glanbia Deal

IFA dairy chairperson, Stephen Arthur has confirmed that IFA will host an online meeting for farmers on the proposed Glanbia deal on Monday, December 13th at 8pm.

Jim Bergin, CEO of Glanbia Co-op, and Sean Molloy, chief agribusiness growth officer, will address the meeting.

The vote is scheduled to take place at an online SGM on Friday, Dec 17th.

Stephen Arthur said the meeting on Monday will give suppliers the opportunity to get clarity on any outstanding questions they may have in advance of the vote on Friday. It’s a complex financial arrangement that requires careful scrutiny before members vote on the proposals.

“Glanbia has a three billion litre milk pool and takes in 270,000 tonnes of grain each year. It’s a major processor and buyer of what farmers produce so they should be a market leader in price,” he said.

“Whatever new structure may emerge, it has to return a leading price to the farmers. The business must seek to extract the maximum value from the market for the quality product that we sell to them,” he said.

IFA grain chairperson, Mark Browne said grain farmers would expect any new arrangement, if it goes ahead, to pay a leading price for the quality grains supplied by farmers.

Registration for the online meeting is available at the following link: https://www.ifa.ie/glanbia/