In a letter sent to members this week, Dairygold company secretary Ann Fogarty has suggested the co-op has initiated a comprehensive review of the rules of the society.

A 16-person sub-committee has been formed, made up of four board members and 12 members of the Dairygold general committee.

Dairygold has invested significantly to process the extra milk that has been delivered over the last 10 years.

The Irish Farmers Journal understands that there are three key areas that will come in under the review process.

  • Dairygold trading rules: Shareholders who trade significantly outside of the co-op are not allowed on the representative structure of the co-op. Currently in terms of trading rules, an elected farmer is required to purchase at least 80% by value of total animal feed and fertiliser purchases and if in any year this doesn’t happen, disqualification is possible. If nominated for a vacancy, it must be at least 50%. This effectively rules out many dairy farmers who shop around for best value or farmers who are part of a purchasing group that trades outside the co-op.
  • Dairygold share release: The current situation is shareholders must be over 65 years of age to redeem the value of their shares in Dairygold. There have been situations recently where, for certain reasons, some have wanted to release a shareholding before this age. Currently, each force majeure case is looked on individually by the board of the co-op and they decide whether it’s possible or not.
  • Dairygold new suppliers: Given the recent dismantling of EU quotas, some new shareholders have joined the co-op and some have increased herd size considerably in a short space of time. This has increased the investment requirement of the co-op, so some shareholders are asking should this continue or should there be new rules for a new era in the co-op.
  • Members

    The 16 persons are John O’Gorman (chair), Edmund Lynch (vice-chair), Maurice Curtin, Sean McSweeney, Fintan McSweeney, Michael O’Hanlon, Martin O’Doherty, Mary Twomey Casey, Brendan Hinchion, Michael Murphy, Matthew McEniry, Joe Tobin, Tim O’Leary, Maurice Smiddy, Vincent Griffin and Dan Hogan.

    Members are asked to write into Dairygold or alternatively email them to rules@dairygold.ie by the closing date of 30 September 2019.

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