Ireland

Dwindling Irish Butter Imports Helping to Lap up U.S. Surplus

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 14:02:45 GMT

The dairy industry, like many industries, is caught in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy, and the uncertainty of today’s trade policies, has caused at least one foreign dairy company to shift sales to other markets. In an April earnings report, Ornua, the manufacturer of Kerrygold butter, said it had already sold most of its stockpiles slated for export to the United States in an effort to frontload sales ahead of potential tariffs.

“Americans can’t get enough Irish butter, but they may soon have to make do with less,” said Sarina Sharp, analyst with the Daily Dairy Report. “Last year, Kerrygold reached a record number of U.S. households, and for several years, Kerrygold has ranked second in U.S. butter sales, behind domestic favorite Land O’Lakes.”

In November 2024, the United States imported a record-shattering 17 million pounds of butter from Ireland, primarily the Kerrygold brand. While U.S. imports of butter from Ireland remained well above average monthly volumes through January 2025, they plunged to less than 3 million pounds in April and less than 2 million pounds in May—the smallest monthly volume since 2019. “And there is reason to believe that imports will remain low,” said Sharp.

(Fran Howard)

In late July, Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the loose terms of a trade framework between the world’s two largest economies in which the European Union agreed to import U.S. goods tariff-free, while the United States said it would levy 15% tariffs on all imports from the bloc. However, each EU member state still needs to ratify the agreement for it to become effective. Last year, the EU-27 sent 141 million pounds of butter to the United States. If 15% tariffs are levied, the price consumers will have to pay for Kerrygold and other EU butters will almost certainly rise.

Ornua Chief Executive Officer Conor Galvin told a recent panel in Dublin that while the United States remains a key market, “the rules of the game have changed,” and the company will need to diversify sales away from the United States.

“A setback or even a pause in the growth of Irish butter imports would present a rare opportunity for U.S. buttermakers who have tried but failed to capture some of Kerrygold’s market share,” Sharp said. “American consumers have been willing to pay more for Kerrygold because it boasts as much butterfat as other European-style butters, while not skipping the salt. And while U.S. buttermakers can mimic Kerrygold’s fat and salt content, they have been unable to replicate its Emerald Isle aura, with Gaelic prominently featured on its distinctive gold packaging.”

If Kerrygold plays less prominently in dairy cases, some consumers could turn to one of the U.S. brands that have long struggled to compete with the iconic Irish import, Sharp said. And the vast spread between U.S. and EU butter prices could convince these converts to stick with American products when and if Irish butter imports rebound, she added.

“Lower imports and greater demand for domestic butter brands are already helping to lap up some of the United States’ rapidly growing butterfat supplies,” Sharp noted. “Currently, domestic demand is just strong enough to stay ahead of butter production, but any shift in the trade balance could quickly disrupt this equilibrium.”

Milk Production in Europe Continues to Fall: Here are Two Big Reasons Why

Sun, 04 Feb 2024 22:08:16 GMT

The ongoing implementation of environmental regulations, called the European Green Deal, and low agricultural commodity prices have sparked numerous farmer protests across Europe. Dairy has not been immune as new regulations weigh on milk production. November EU milk collections fell to levels not seen in years, according to Betty Berning, analyst with the Daily Dairy Report.

Approved in 2020, the European Green Deal is a set of policy initiatives designed to help the trading blocreduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. The initiatives extend to many different sectors of the economy, including construction, biodiversity, energy, transportation, and food and agriculture.

“The protests occurring across the continent underscore farmers’ frustration with low revenues and increased restrictions,” Berning said. “While governments seem to be listening, it’s unclear whether meaningful action will be taken. Moreover, with environmental limits already in place in Ireland and the Netherlands, change could come too late to cause a significant shift in the trajectory of the EU dairy sector.”

November milk production in the European Union and the United Kingdom fell 2.5%, compared to a year earlier, to 26.6 billion pounds, based on preliminary data and estimates from Eurostat, CLAL, and the UK’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB). November milk production was the lowest for any November since 2018 and the fourth month in a row that volumes declined on a year-over-year basis. Ireland’s November milk collections plunged 20%, or 218.3 million pounds, to 882.4 million pounds vs. November 2022, as the country headed into its seasonal low.

“Ongoing environmental restrictions have been pushing production lower across Europe, and November’s production loss highlights the continent’s ongoing reduction in milk flows,” Berning said.

Through November 2023, annual year-over-year milk production was up a marginal 0.1%, with losses beginning in August. According to USDA’s October estimates, Europe’s trend toward declining output will continue into this year, with 2024 milk volumes forecast to drop 0.14% from 2023 levels to 320 billion pounds.

“German farmers took to the streets of Berlin in late January to protest rising taxes and a lack of subsidies,” Berning noted. “The demonstrations were part of ongoing farmer protests as Germany rolls out austerity measures to cover holes in its budget.”

Reuters and other news outlets reported that similar demonstrations have been occurring in other countries since late last year. Farmers in France, for example, have blocked roads around Paris as they call for “urgent action on low farmgate prices, green regulation, and free-trade policies,” according to Reuters.

Some headway could be occurring in France, where Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said he will not reduce tax breaks for diesel fuel destined for agricultural use, one of the farmers’ chief grievances. He also said the government will distribute emergency funds more quickly and levy substantial fines on corporations that do not follow price negotiation rules.

“Farmers in Poland have voiced concerns over agricultural imports from Ukraine as well as over the European Green Deal,” Berning said. “Agricultural products from Ukraine have reportedly been flooding Poland’s market as demand remains low in the war-torn nation, causing Polish farm revenue to drop.”

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Back to the Future for Dairying in Ireland

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 21:23:58 GMT

At age 50, Irish farmer Noel Lynch made a major life move counter to those of most producers in his demographic: he entered into dairying.

It actually wasn’t his first foray into dairy management. Lynch grew up milking cows on the 84-acre farm he calls home in the Kilkenny region of southeast Ireland. The farm has been in his family for 5 generations. Lynch is the sixth and his son, Alfie, 15, the seventh.

In 2002, Lynch was busily traveling the world as a sales representative for a dairy nutrition company. His father, who was ready to slow down, sold the dairy cows and converted to beef production.

But Lynch eventually felt the tug of his Irish roots and returned to the farm to raise his family. He managed the beef herd and started a now-bustling fencing company that employs 6 other workers. Then, in the interest of capturing higher margins from his limited acreage, he dove back into dairying, milking his first cows – this time, with a robot -- in January 2023.

A Dairy Resurgence

The dairy industry in Ireland has exploded since the European Union (EU) lifted its milk quota system in 2015, according to Gerry Giggins, an Irish ruminant nutrition consultant. Giggins traverses the entire island country – which is about the size of the state of Indiana -- and has worked in the industry for decades. He now also runs Farm Tours Ireland, a travel business specializing in visits to authentic Irish farms.

“We grew from about 950,000 head of milking cows then, to 1.6 million today,” shared Giggins. “Irish farmers have a long tradition of producing high-quality dairy products, and they love doing it.”

The temperate climate and 30-40 inches of annual rainfall mean it’s almost always like springtime in Ireland. It’s the perfect scenario for growing grass, which is the basis for making one of the country’s most popular and world-renown dairy products, Irish grass-fed butter.

Dairy leads the way in agricultural exports from Ireland, with about 70% of its milk being shipped abroad. “There are about 5 million people in Ireland, but we feed 60 million people worldwide,” Giggins noted. The country’s trade with China has boomed in recent years, with Irish dairy farms supplying more than a third of all of China’s baby formula.

But the winds of change continue to blow in Ireland. Farming practices there are heavily influenced by direct subsidy payments from the EU, of which most of the country is a part. Compliance with the Paris Agreement dictates that participating countries arrive at “net zero” carbon dioxide emissions by 2040.

In an attempt to achieve that compliance, Ireland is raising its animal-to-land ratio so that farmers like Lynch will have to have more acres over which to spread the density of their animals, or reduce animal numbers. The move is expected to shave cattle numbers in the country by about 200,000 head.

Innovation Meets Regulation

Lynch currently milks 65 British Friesian cows and also custom-grazes 80 heifers for a neighboring, 400-cow dairy. With that additional pasture space, he will be able to pursue his goal of doubling his herd size by 2025. Beyond that, expansion may be challenging. Lynch reported land rarely comes up for sale, and currently fetches $25,000-26,000 per acre. Cash rent is about $500 per acre.

The EU subsidies provide steady income and risk protection. Yet farmers also are tethered by regulations that are tedious compared to American standards. “I have to have a license to spray absolutely every chemical on my farm, and to run a chain saw,” he shared. “I pay a recycling fee when I purchase silo plastic, then pay another fee to have it hauled away.”

Government-driven electronic identification allows 100% traceability of cattle. Every animal must be accounted for at the beginning and end of the year, and all sales must be conducted through official channels – no exchanging of animals between neighbors, and no on-farm butchering that is not documented by a certified abattoir.

Lynch also isn’t impressed with the government’s logic on climate change. “One flight from Dublin to New York City produces more carbon than an Irish dairy farm with 120 cows for an entire year,” he stated. “A country’s ability to grow its own, high-quality food is not something that should be taken for granted.”

Still, he is grateful for the opportunity to farm, and is contagiously enthusiastic about his family’s future in dairying. “My son is mad about farming,” he declared. “It’s a good life, and we’re going to keep striving at it.”