Soaring energy costs and falling milk prices are causing “significant pain” for the Irish dairy industry, Lakeland Dairies chief executive Colin Kelly has warned, urging the Government to do more to protect farm incomes to avoid more disruptive protests over the coming weeks.
“Certainly, there is significant pain being felt all across rural Ireland and all across Ireland in general,” he told The Irish Times.
“But it’s also very important we don’t block up the country again,” Kelly said, adding, “we fully appreciate people’s right to demonstrate and to protest.”
Kelly, who also welcomed the package of reliefs announced this week, was speaking in advance of the publication of Lakeland’s 2025 financial results and annual report on Wednesday.
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Amid the blockading of fuel depots last week, Lakeland, the cross-Border co-operative group, was unsure whether it would have enough diesel to collect milk from its member farms, Kelly said.
“I think the country has spoken, the Government has replied. We’d urge the Government to do more, and we’d hope the country doesn’t feel the need to go back out on the streets.”
Group revenues at Lakeland increased by 10 per cent to €1.9 billion last year, which it said reflected higher milk production volumes as the group processed a record 2.14 billion litres.
Still, 2025 was characterised by significant “volatility”, according to the annual report.
Milk prices cratered in the second half of 2025 and continued to fall in early 2026, due to a sizeable global milk glut. However, Kerrygold maker Ornua, of which Lakeland is a part-owner, said on Wednesday that there have been recent signs of stabilisation.
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“In the second half of last year, we were seeing global milk flows running 4 per cent, 5 per cent and 6 per cent higher than they were in the previous year,” Kelly said, a scenario the industry has “never before seen”.
Still, Lakeland generated operating profits after exceptional items of €34.4 million, up slightly from €33.5 million in 2024.
Distribution costs were also broadly stable year-on-year at €237.4 million. “We’re very happy with how we managed the business throughout the year,” Kelly said.
The 10 per cent jump in revenue allowed Lakeland to “pick up some economies of scale, which certainly helped us from a management-of-cost perspective”, he added.
Lakeland reported exceptional items including redundancy costs of €5.4 million, which Kelly said related to an “ongoing efficiency” programme unrelated to market conditions last year.
“We have had a headcount reduction, 110 people,” he said, which “largely happened across quarter four of last year”. That process “is now finished”, he said.
Lakeland also reported exceptional income of €6.5 million, which Kelly said related to the sale of the group’s ice cream business to Cork-based Silver Pail and the closure and sale of a factory in Monaghan.
