Current prices, the retail–farmgate gap, and real profitability for Irish dairy farmers. See how dairy compares to hemp for 2025.
Supermarket price for leading Irish brands (2025).
Average milk price paid to farmers (Q2 2025).
2025 net margin per cow (Teagasc).
Monthly average retail butter prices vs farmgate milk prices in Ireland.
You milk, you feed, you maintain the herd, and you watch milk cheques swing with every season. But supermarket butter never gets cheaper. The gap between farmgate milk and retail butter says it all: Irish farmers do the heavy lifting, but profits vanish somewhere between the parlour and the checkout.
It’s not just costs—feed, diesel, and vet bills. It’s that your margins shrink every year, and you’re the last to get paid. Most dairy farmers are working for a sliver, hoping bonuses and good grass make the difference. And the story’s the same, year after year.
What if part of your land could work differently? Hemp gives you a predictable return, much lower input, and one harvest. No calving, no mastitis, no wintering. You can keep the cows—but you don’t have to keep all your land at the mercy of milk price panels.
