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The expected increase in milk price volatility after the milk quota abolition in the EU will lead to further planning uncertainty on dairy farms. Consequently, the modest supply of insurance and the hedging of milk prices through futures may increase. To shed more light on this possibility, the purpose of this paper is to calculate the additional willingness to pay (WTP) for risk-averse dairy farmers in order to cope with milk price volatility after the quota abolition.

After the European dairy quota abolition, European dairy farmers will be more dependent on the milk price of the world market. To reflect the world market, a time series of milk prices of a dairy processor from New Zealand (NZ) was used because NZ is exporting most of their dairy products under world market conditions. Based on the NZ price series, we approximated milk price volatility after the European dairy quota abolition and calculated the additional WTP of risk-averse dairy farmers in order to cope with milk price volatility.

Using a price series of NZ to approximate milk price volatility after the European dairy quota abolition and comparing it with a German milk price series before quota, the results suggest there might be increased WTP after the milk quota abolition in order to cope with milk price volatility. Following this assumption, the WTP of considerable risk-averse dairy farmers may exceed the initial transaction costs of hedging milk prices with futures on commodity exchanges. Nevertheless, a qualitative discussion of the results shows costs of education, basis risk, and the small size of farms could still keep dairy farmers from hedging the milk price.

In calculating the additional WTP for risk-averse dairy farmers to cope with milk price volatility, this is the first study to attempt to illustrate the expected influence of increasing milk price volatility at the dairy farm level after the dairy quota abolition in the EU. The additional WTP gives further insights into the need for and acceptance of insurance after the dairy quota abolition at the dairy farm level.

This paper aims to examine the competitiveness trends and rankings of the Irish dairy sector at the farm and trade levels, relative to selected European Union (EU) Member States, in the context of the removal of the EU milk quota in 2015.

Competitiveness indicators including partial productivity measures and accountancy-based indicators were used for farm competitiveness, and net export market share and normalised revealed comparative advantage (NRCA) were used for export competitiveness.

Amongst the countries examined, Ireland had the highest growth in partial productivity indicators and was ranked first with the lowest total costs and cash costs per kg of milk solids post-quota. However, the total economic cost sub-components showed that Irish dairy farmers had high opportunity costs for owned land and labour. While Irish dairy products such as butter and powders have demonstrated growth potential in competitiveness post-quota with Irish butter and whey ranked in top three relative to other countries, other products, i.e. cheese and liquid milk have declined in competitiveness according to key export competitiveness indicators used.

The challenge for Irish dairy farmers is how to mitigate relatively high land and labour costs, which can limit farm competitiveness in the long run. The key players in the Irish dairy industry can now better position themselves in the global dairy market, recognizing the competitiveness dynamics of the different dairy products and their competitors. Policy implications and further areas of research have been identified to help improve the overall competitiveness position. It is surprising that Irish butter is a leader in the EU, yet not much research has been done to understand the market dynamics of this sector.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to use both farm and export competitiveness measures to analyse the Irish dairy industry relative to other countries in the context of quota abolition. Unlike previous studies on dairy export competitiveness, this study has disaggregated the processed dairy products, which allowed for the ranking of countries and comparability across countries using NRCA.

Milk is one of the most produced, consumed and protected agricultural commodities worldwide. The purpose of this paper is to assess how trade-opening policies can foster food security in the Chinese milk sector.

The empirical evidence proposed in our paper is based on time series data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China (2019) and FAOSTAT (2020). Differences in income elasticity between urban and rural areas are estimated by OLS regressions. The data also provide empirical evidence to assess to what extent and to which countries China is resorting to meet its growing demand.

Per-capita milk consumption of Chinese is rising. The authors’ estimates show that milk income elasticity is higher in rural areas. China is also progressively increasing its dependence on imports. Producers who benefit the most are those from countries implementing trade-opening policies.

Other methods could be applied, by way of example, the gravitational model.

Trade agreements and the removal of barriers could be effective responses to protectionist pressures and to food security concerns.

The case examined is of particular interest as it intervenes on food security and safety.

The paper adds value and evidence to the effects of trade on food security in a country with limited and exploited natural resources addressing a health emergency and environmental concerns.

Output from the Irish Dairy Industry has grown rapidly since the abolition of quotas in 2015, with processors investing heavily in capacity expansion to deal with the extra milk volumes. Further capacity gains may be achieved by extending the processing season into the winter, a key enabler for which being the reduction of duration of the winter maintenance overhaul period. This paper aims to investigate if Lean Six Sigma tools and techniques can be used to enhance operational maintenance performance, thereby releasing additional processing capacity.

Combining the Six-Sigma Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control (DMAIC) methodology and the structured approach of Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) widely used in process industries creates a novel hybrid model that promises substantial improvement in maintenance overhaul execution. This paper presents a case study applying the DMAIC/TAM model to Ireland’s largest dairy processing site to optimise the annual maintenance shutdown. The objective was to deliver a 30% reduction in the duration of the overhaul, enabling an extension of the processing season.

Application of the DMAIC/TAM hybrid resulted in process enhancements, employee engagement and a clear roadmap for the operations team. Project goals were delivered, and original objectives exceeded, resulting in €8.9m additional value to the business and a reduction of 36% in the duration of the overhaul.

The results demonstrate that the model provides a structure that promotes systematic working and a continuous improvement focus that can have substantial benefits for wider industry. Opportunities for further model refinement were identified and will enhance performance in subsequent overhauls.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that the structure and tools of DMAIC and TAM have been combined into a hybrid methodology and applied in an Irish industrial setting.

The study's purpose is to investigate the price volatility of four dairy commodities (skim milk powder [SMP], whole milk powder [WMP], butter and cheddar cheese) in the three most significant regional markets (EU, Oceania and US) in the international dairy market.

The study uses a panel-Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedastic (panel-GARCH) modeling technique and data from January 12, 2001, to April 28, 2017.

Conditional volatility was higher during subperiods 2007–2010 and 2014–2016 when conditional cross-correlations between prices had the lowest values. In some cases, they were negative (i.e. between the EU and the USA and between Oceania and the USA for both butter and cheese). Interdependence across the three dairy markets, especially for SMP and WMP markets and for the butter market between EU and Oceania is also strongly evidenced. Interdependence is responsible for the spillover of price shocks across the three regions.

The data set used should be extended to cover the COVID-19 pandemic period.

This is the first study to use panel-GARCH to examine international dairy prices and volatility linkages, where previous studies mainly used multivariate GARCH models. Panel-GARCH allows a high-dimensional data series (i.e. 12 dairy prices) and generates potential efficiency gains in estimating conditional variances and covariances by incorporating information about heterogeneity across markets and considering their interdependence.

This paper bridges the gap between theory and practice in the application of the Income Stabilisation Tool (IST). With an application to the dairy sector, the purpose of this paper is to propose methodology for the quantification of reference income when farm structural change occurs and estimate the role of farm attributes on the probability of income loss, offering an ex ante evaluation of farm resilience to risk.

Based on a balanced Farm Accountancy Network farm-level panel ranging from 2008 to 2014, three hypotheses of reference income calculation are tested to assess whether farms structural changes over the years significantly affect the level of IST indemnification. The role of farm characteristics on the probability of an income reduction is then evaluated by estimating a multinomial logit model.

Results show that farms’ structural changes significantly affect IST indemnities and need to be considered in calculating the reference income. The estimated model suggests that farm characteristics significantly affect the probability of a severe income drop and hence risk resilience. Extensive livestock systems seem to reduce the probability of an income drop, while farms in upland areas managed by young farmers seem to experience increased risk exposure.

The research provides one of the first attempts to define risk profile of dairy farms by modelling the probability of an income reduction on observable attributes. Indeed, among different sectors, dairy farms emerge as the main candidates for the application of the IST.

The Common Agricultural Policy governing the dairy sector may on first sight give the impression of consisting of a mass of bureaucratic rules creating a system which is the antithesis of the free market. However, although the skeleton of the policy may be bureaucratic its life‐blood is the operation of competitive forces. Actual management of the market is limited to the minimum strictly necessary to achieve current policy aims. Community law itself recognises a number of guarantees to which resort can be made in the case of interference by member states or commercial enterprises with the operation of competitive forces in the dairy sector. Even the Community Council of Ministers has certain legal constraints on its legislative powers such as the requirement to satisfy the principle of proportionality which has been held by the Community Court as being relevant, for example in determining to what extent it is legitimate to affect the competitive position of another agricultural sector by a measure designed to encourage the disposal of surplus milk products. Remaining impediments to free movement of dairy products mean that the single market envisaged by the creation of the common dairy regime more than 20 years ago has not been completely achieved. 1992 is therefore a significant date for the dairy trade. The abolition of the remaining restrictions in Intra‐Community trade and the increasing concentration of the dairy industry are likely to increase the relevance of the Articles of the EEC Treaty dealing with anti‐competitive conduct of enterprises to this sector.

The chapter will document the Canadian reaction, as reflected in the demand of New Zealand, that Canada fundamentally alters its dairy supply management system in order to participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. The Canadian government has resolutely refused to do so, supported wholeheartedly by dairy farmers throughout the country. This is in part because of the effect such an action would have on rural spaces and the debilitating result it would have on Canadian dairy production. As well, the chapter will address the issue of the cost of dairy products in New Zealand as compared with Canada. Part of this analysis will focus on the role of supermarkets in determining the price structure of milk in both Canada and New Zealand. Finally, the chapter will offer an examination of the New Zealand system as represented by Fonterra and the Canadian system as epitomized by dairy supply management.

Since the introduction of very recent times of methods of tissue cultivation of viruses, strikingly different in so many aspects to the older and orthodox methods of bacterial cultivation, there has been a rapid increase in the knowledge of pathogenic viruses and their habitats. A sizeable literature has developed on the subject. Upwards of seventy viruses thrive in the intestines of man and exist in his excreta in large quantities; in sewage and even in the ultimate product of excreta—sludge. It goes without saying that with such a massive reservoir of infection, water and certain foods could play a part in the epidemiology of at least some of the diseases caused by the entero‐viruses. That up to the present there seems to be little evidence that they do is the result of what has been called “the imponderable elements” of such infections; the very great difference between the infectivity and morbidity of the organisms; between the silent and overt infections they produce.