There is no need for an Irish guilt complex as Irish dairying continues to expand.

When the dairy quota was introduced in 1984, the Netherlands had a quota per utilisable area nine times that of Ireland. Yes, nine times, so we are not remotely catching up.

Irish dairying is unique in having a consumer acceptance of our product that gives our butter, in particular an astonishing premium

Granted, Dutch dairying has had to reduce numbers to some extent to comply with the EU nitrates and phosphate rules that have come into effect and some Irish dairy farmers will also inevitably have to reassess cow numbers as they hit phosphorus or nitrate ceilings.

Irish dairying is unique in having a consumer acceptance of our product that gives our butter, in particular an astonishing premium. This is based on consumer demand and a consciousness of the particular message of sustainability, provenance and taste that Ornua (The Irish Dairy Board) has succeeded over the years in getting across to consumers prepared to pay for quality.

The visible success in Germany and the United States is real and to be commended.

At a seminar in London last week, it came across to me just how careful we need to be in protecting that message and ensuring that it reflects reality. Most people will have heard of the phenomenal success of the retail chain, Primark, or Penneys here.

We cannot afford to let the trust around our grass-produced milk be tarnished in any way

It has become an international brand but the widespread reports of the labour conditions in some of its suppliers’ factories have meant that its sales in Germany have suffered significant declines. We cannot afford to let the trust around our grass-produced milk be tarnished in any way.

Theoretically, the same should be true about our beef sector but our product seems to be becoming more of a general commodity rather than a premium offering in its own right.

If the latest research from Teagasc Grange is anything to go by, that may be about to change.

This has huge marketing implications and would let the official origin of Irish grass-fed beef be protected

In a remarkable article in the most recent Teagasc research newsletter, there is emerging evidence that the diet fed to a beef animal can be identified and authenticated by the makeup of individual components of the meat. This has huge marketing implications and would let the official origin of Irish grass-fed beef be protected.

A request for this designation of origin has already gone to Brussels but this latest work would make the whole exercise much more feasible and potentially rewarding.