Dairygold to pay €285/t minimum contract price for 2023 protein bean crop

Dairygold has announced a minimum contract price of €285/t for the 2023 protein bean crop. The announcement demonstrates Dairygold’s ongoing commitment to its tillage farmers and encourages the production of this valuable crop for the season ahead.

Speaking about the announcement on Wednesday, Dairygold’s general manager Agri Business, Liam O’Flaherty said: “Beans have grown into an important ingredient in many of Dairygold’s feeds as they supply a rich source of valuable native protein and starch. Through offering a minimum contract price we are seeking to support and encourage growers and give them clarity around the potential returns from growing beans. This allows our growers greater certainty when deciding on cropping plans for the coming season”.

This year, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will be supporting the crop with a protein payment of up to €700 / ha depending on the area planted.

SAFE CROP

Dairygold’s Tillage and Beef manager Liam Leahy said: “It is important to understand that this crop with its low input requirements, guaranteed minimum harvest price plus the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine protein support makes it a very safe crop to support and should be embraced at farm level for all that it offers”.

Commenting on the price, Dairygold nutritionist Colman Purcell said: “Dairygold is using all of its purchased beans as a direct replacement to imported protein as this both improves our carbon footprint while at the same time offering us the opportunity to include a quality home produced product into our feed. We now market a range of feeds that are fully manufactured from Irish grown feed ingredients, Gold Farm Beef feeds, which are finding strong support with livestock feeders as they look for quality and consistence performance”.