Dairygold is updating its Grassroots Milk Supplier Sustainability Bonus to offer a 33% increase in the payment which will result in approximately €14 million being paid out to participating farmers annually.
The Grassroots Milk Supplier Sustainability Bonus was introduced in 2023, offering 0.75 cent per litre (equivalent) of milk to participating milk suppliers. Since its launch in 2023, Dairygold has paid out more than €17m to participating milk suppliers. 93% of milk supplied to Dairygold is sourced from farms participating in the Grassroots programme.
The updated Milk Supplier Sustainability bonus offers Dairygold milk suppliers the opportunity to receive 1.00 cent per litre (equivalent) by participating in impactful sustainability actions, including protecting water quality, use of protected urea to reduce greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions, participation in a soil health programme, engaging in milk recording herd health and genetics programmes along with farmer training and education.
The updated 2025 Grassroots Milk Supplier Sustainability Bonus Programme includes new elements, focused on farm nutrient balance training and action, and on herd genetics.
Nutrient balance is a leading metric for water quality impact. Awareness of it at individual farm level will help to drive additional appropriate action to protect water quality. The herd genetics measures, including dairy beef, will further enhance herd performance to support more sustainable and profitable farming.
Speaking at the launch of the updated Dairygold Grassroots Milk Supplier Sustainability Bonus, Michael McGrath, European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection said he was ‘delighted’ to launch the Grassroots Sustainability programme.
“Dairy processors across Ireland, including Dairygold, are doing a lot of proactive work with their milk suppliers to improve the sustainability of our dairy industry. The dairy industry is Ireland’s largest and most successful indigenous industry, supporting thousands of farming families across the country. It’s through participation on programmes such as Grassroots that our family farms can future proof their operations to ensure we maintain our world-class dairy industry into the future,” he said.
Speaking about the update to the bonus, Dairygold chairperson, Seán O’Brien said the company were ‘delighted’ to be in a position to continue to reward their milk suppliers for the positive steps they are taking to make their farms even more sustainable.
“We know that water quality is a priority issue for agriculture, and we’re committed to doing what we can to further drive action to protect and improve it across the Dairygold catchment. The updated training element of the Grassroots Bonus, encompassing individual nutrient balance training and action, will go a long way towards achieving those positive results. However, we also need to ensure we’re given the time to demonstrate the efficacy of these measures.
“We’re also confident that our strengthened focus on genetics, including dairy beef, will further enhance herd performance and productivity impacting positively on the bottom line for those farm enterprises and on the environment.”
