Continued decline in UK milk collections

Milk production in the UK continues to decline, while US production soars.

Odile Evans

8 May 2017

Continued decline in UK milk collections

Milk collection figures for the UK in March show a year-on-year decline in production of 1.51% in 2017. Total milk collections were 1.28 million tonnes for the month. This follows a fall in production the previous month as well.

For the first three months in 2017, the cumulative milk collection figure for the UK stands at 3.62 million tonnes. This is 3.21% lower than 2016.

On the other side of the Atlantic, milk production is soaring, with manufacturing plants operating on a full seven-day schedule each week. Cheese stocks in the United States have risen to a record-breaking 586,300 tonnes in March 2017, putting storage space under pressure.

US dairy farms are still expanding, with an additional 15,000 head in the herd in March.

Meanwhile, in Ireland, April milk supply was up 15% on the same month in 2016.

Dairygold chair urges caution on milk price

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