Results 1,161-1,180 of 2,691 for speaker:Tim Lombard

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Pig Industry: Discussion. (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: I welcome the representatives from MII and acknowledge their contribution to this important debate. Will they elaborate on where they believe the market stands? The Chairperson mentioned that. Where do they believe the market will go in the next six or eight months? I realise that this is a crystal-ball matter to some degree. They might also elaborate on how efficient the pig industry is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: On that issue of the figure, it varies according to whom one talks. How could we get a definitive figure for how many fixed milk price contracts are in the movement? Can the witnesses provide that information or who can?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: How could we get a definitive figure? Who has it? Do we need to write to every individual co-operative or can Mr. Flanagan provide it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: It would be important so we could put a perspective on the problem, if it is a problem. Without having that figure, we are speculating on the basis of who called to my door last Saturday morning. The figure could be very appropriate. If ICOS could gather that information and forward it to the secretariat, it might be a helpful step forward in our deliberations.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: That is no problem. The Chair is more than welcome to interrupt me at times. Perhaps the witnesses might explain the system all the way through. How this works is that Ornua would forward sell a product to a supplier. It would then purchase that from a co-operative movement or a limited company milk supplier, and it would have its fixed margin in between. The co-operative movement or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: The point I was getting to is that while the customer base and co-operative had the fixed price for inputs and outputs, was there a proposal given for a three-year fixed price for inputs given to farmers?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: What about with the contracts we are dealing with now? Was there any fixed price for the three-year period?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: That was the farming movement. Was it the IFA or co-operative movements that wanted it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: With the current milk price contracts going out, has that been reinstated?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: That is to some degree.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: I ask about the cohort of co-operatives that have over 90% in some cases. Is that an appropriate practice? Has the society taken any action against those co-operatives or spoken with their representatives directly?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: The point I was trying to make is about who regulates the co-operative movement with regard to the amount of milk leveraged in a fixed-price milk contract. Mr. Flanagan has said the society has no remit when it comes to regulating the industry. There could be a scenario where a farmer might offer 100% of milk, technically. Is there something we could do as a committee in that regard, such...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: Should there be a regulation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: As for those farmers currently caught in this dilemma, what interaction, if any, has occurred between the co-operative movements and those farmers about issues such as extended credit? They are still paying for it but I am aware that Dairygold has never written to a farmer about fixed milk price contracts. How many other co-operative movements have never written to farmers about extending...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: It has not been at a correspondent level.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: At some stage should the co-operative movement put pen to paper? While Dairygold, for example, has not done so but should it write to farmers? Some people have a very good relationship with the representative on the ground but others may not deal with that representative and could have very little contact. Some farmers may have a very good relationship with their milk adviser but some may...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: That type of letter has not been sent and there has been no proposal for interest-free or extended credit. It has been mooted and spoken about but the correspondence has not been issued.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: I concur totally.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fixed-Price Milk Contracts: Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (13 Apr 2022)

Tim Lombard: I apologise to the Chairman but I will finish with this. This is a very important tool but the integrity of this tool for selling milk will be the biggest issue for the industry in the future. Where will these contracts go? Is there any confidence in the industry with these contracts? As we all know this could be an important tool if it is worked appropriately, what changes could be made?...