The Northern Ireland Institute of Agricultural Science (NIIAS) closed 2025 with a high-profile seminar at the Royal Ulster Winter Fair, reaffirming its role as a key association for the agricultural sector.

The event gathered farmers, industry stakeholders, and agribusiness leaders to review local and global dairy trends.

Paul Vernon, chief executive of Leprino Foods Europe, outlined market pressures affecting dairy. “Within our business we tend to look at consumption trends first and then factor-in production and processing-related factors thereafter. And the reality is that consumers are not in a good place at the present time,” he said.

He added that restaurant and food service demand has fallen 11% compared with pre-pandemic levels, while inflation is pushing consumers to cut back on purchases.

Leprino Foods operates a 50,000t mozzarella facility in Magheralin, Co Down, and recently completed a US$1 billion (€860m) plant in Texas, fully funded in-house. Vernon highlighted Northern Ireland’s milk growth, noting production rose 4% in 2024 and a further 8.5% in 2025, totalling 207 million litres over the first nine months of the year.

“The average milk paid to dairy farmers in Northern Ireland during 2023 was 45 pence per litre. By 2024 this figure had risen to 43 pence with the first 9 months of 2025 registering a further average increase up to 43.6 pence,” he said.

Dale Farm chief executive Nick Whelan confirmed investment and sustainability progress, including the new £70m Dunmanbridge processing facility and the next phase of the ‘Future Strong’ programme.

Explore how NIIAS is shaping Northern Ireland agriculture in 2025 and beyond in the full story.

Photo credits to NIIAS official Facebook page