The rest of the food industry might have been thunderstruck by Kerry's proposed €218 million (£172 million) bid for Golden Vale, but for Golden Vale's milk suppliers there was only one issue at yesterday's annual general meeting in Limerick - the price they got paid for their milk.

Milk suppliers might own just 12 per cent of Golden Vale's shares, but their interests were paramount yesterday.

Almost the entire 300-strong attendance seemed to be milk suppliers and they were to vent their anger about the milk price. Who owns Golden Vale in the future was not an issue, although it was pretty clear from interviews with farmers that they saw their future with Kerry and not the current Golden Vale management.

At one stage, it looked as if the annual meeting might not even get under way, with farmers demanding a statement on the milk price before they would allow chairman Mr Pat McKenna open the meeting. The onslaught on the Golden Vale board was led by Limerick IFA chairman Mr Michael O'Flynn, who accused group managing director Mr Jim Murphy of breaking a pledge he gave last year's annual general meeting to match Irish Dairy Board milk price movements.

"Questions must be answered before this meeting begins," thundered Mr O'Flynn, against a background of constant barracking and chanting. "What do we want? A hundred and ten," was the chant, a reference to the farmers' demand for a milk price of £1.10 a gallon. The meeting was able to get under way only after Mr Murphy agreed to speak first about the price of milk.

"As a public company, the directors and myself have to find a way to find a reasonable balance between the amount we pay for milk and the amount of capital we have tied up in the milk business," he said. He added that the price paid for milk delivered in May would take account of market returns, competitive milk prices and other pertinent matters. "That is what we are required to do."

"We have tried to track Irish Dairy Board prices taking account of cost changes along the way and I think we have done a pretty good job," he said to laughter from the assembled shareholders.

The meeting continued with a repetitive ding-dong between Mr Murphy and Mr O'Flynn to the almost total exclusion of other issues that might be of interest to the 88 per cent of Golden Vale shareholders not supplying the group with milk. At the end, Mr O'Flynn said: "Farmer anger has been vented at this meeting today and it won't go away."

The only serious reference to the proposed Kerry bid came from former Golden Vale chairman Mr Denis Wallis, who said the bid overshadowed the meeting. He said: "There are many positive aspects to the bid and it gives an opportunity for shareholders to get enhanced value. I hope the board will enter discussions with Kerry with a view to raising the bid price and clarifying some issues for farmers." A former director, Mr PJ McGuane, said: `If the milk business is such an impediment, how come a company like Kerry can come in and see no problem with it? We need to get in behind this bid."

Another shareholder told Mr Murphy: "If you'd looked after the farmers, there wouldn't have been a bid."

The meeting voted against the re-election of two non-farmer directors - lawyer and businessman Mr James Osborne and businessman Mr Joe Moran. After a poll, however, both directors were re-elected.

Mr Murphy would make no further comment on the proposed Kerry bid. "We have got an initial approach, we have made our position clear and we'll see where it goes from here," he said.

He would not say if the board would meet Kerry to discuss the proposed offer.