Arrabawn Co-op paid the best milk price in September, according to the Irish Farmers Journal milk price league. After a poor run in recent years, the Nenagh-based co-op has performed strongly this season.

Arrabawn paid €4.43/kg of milk solids in September, ahead of the four west Cork co-ops, which all paid around €4.37. By holding their price, the west Cork co-ops bounced back from an uncharacteristically low position in the August league.

In division 2, Town of Monaghan performed very well in September, paying €4.34 per kg of milk solids on a milk league basis. However, farmers in the region continue to suffer on total payout (see Figure 1) due to low milk constituents.

Conor Ryan, chief executive of Arrabawn, said that recent investment in the Nenagh plant had allowed for increased flexibility in product mix this year. “We were able to switch out of the weaker products,” he said.

In the past, the co-op would have had a high dependence on butter and skim. With at least 85% of its 2014 milk already collected and paid for, Arrabawn looks set for a significant climb up the national milk price league table for the full calendar year.

Glanbia and its supplier co-op Centenary Thurles are the sole occupiers of division three for September, with a milk league price of €4.05/kg. Subject to co-op shareholder approval, Glanbia suppliers will be paid an additional 0.5c/litre at year end – but only if they sign the milk supply agreement. If included, it would boost its September price to €4.1165/kg – still a division three price compared to the rest of the industry.

The Irish Farmers Journal milk league table is ranked on the price paid for a kilogramme of milk solids, using the 2013 national average milk solids of 3.39% protein and 3.94% butterfat. Co-ops quote base prices based on 3.6% fat and 3.3% protein.

The simple average milk price for September was €4.291/kg, a drop of 6% from the August average of €4.565/kg. This was greater than the 4% drop in the Irish Dairy Board’s Purchase Price Index in the same period, but some processors had delayed passing on cuts earlier in the season.

Unfortunately, weak markets mean that further cuts have been announced by some processors for October.