Ms Finola McCoy:

On the awareness factor and the signals that come from the co-operatives, certainly there is change happening in that field. In the past, penalties generally came into play at a level of 400,000 cells per millilitre, but co-operatives are now starting to pay bonuses for quality, which is building awareness. However, that is relatively recent. It is not standard or consistent across the industry. It depends on the co-operative the farmers are supplying as to whether they will get a bonus payment. That is evolving over time. If we had had this discussion a year or two earlier, even fewer co-operatives would have been paying bonuses for quality milk. A culture change is happening, and to some degree farmers are playing catch-up in understanding what it means for them on farm.

There are times when culling is the only viable solution to address the problem of infected animals in the herd. However, one of the key messages of CellCheck, particularly within the farmer workshops that are being rolled out, is that it is about prevention and looking at the simple practices. Scientific research shows us the standards on farm at the moment, and there are large areas for improvement in some of the basics. It may be that as herds get larger, time becomes more precious and possibly less labour is available. Corners are being cut and they are not always the safest corners in terms of mastitis control. Prevention is essential and the Deputy is correct that there is no single solution or step that needs to be implemented.

It is also multidisciplinary and we need to involve all the service providers in educating and working with farmers. That is what we are doing through the training CellCheck provides which involves all disciplines. Those working for Teagasc, vets, private advisers, co-operative staff and milking machine technicians are all being trained together. They are building networks and teams locally to provide a more efficient and effective service for farmers.