For a dairy farmer producing 1m litres annually, Table B outlines the prices paid by each processor during February for milk at the three different qualities, as outlined in Table 1.

Thanks to the 3p/l winter bonus, Glanbia Milk and Fivemiletown are in a commanding position across all three milk qualities.

On good-quality milk, prices average 29.08p/l across all processors, down 0.75p/l from the equivalent value in January.

Glanbia Milk/Fivemiletown are in joint first place and are the only processors paying above 30p/l. Strathroy is the nearest competitor on 29.38p/l.

Glanbia Cheese is in fourth place with its 0.2p/l mozzarella bonus, 0.65p/l volume bonus and zero collection charge, helping the Magheralin-based processor edge Aurivo into fifth, despite the west of Ireland-based processor paying from a higher base price.

Lakeland is in sixth place on 28.29p/l, with Dale Farm and LacPatrick rounding out the table.

Average quality

For average-quality milk, across all processors prices averaged 28p/l for February, down from 28.74p/l for the previous month.

Again, Glanbia Milk and Fivemiletown hold joint first place, with Strathroy in third.

Rolling average

Moving to the 12-month rolling average prices outlined in Table C, Dale Farm is the best-paying processor for a 1m-litre producer across the period of March 2018 to February 2019.

Dale Farm and Lakeland were the only processors to pay in excess of 30p/l on good-quality milk over that period.

Aurivo paid 29.86p/l and is in third place, followed by Glanbia Milk/Fivemiletown, which moved up one place to sit in joint fourth place. Moving to average-quality milk, Dale Farm remains on top with a price of 29.12p/l, with Glanbia Cheese in second place with a rolling 12-month price of 28.75p/l.

Aurivo holds third place, with Lakeland down in fourth. Its 1p/l hygiene bonus is not payable on average-quality milk, leaving the Cavan-based processor off the pace set by Dale Farm.

Glanbia Milk/Fivemiletown are in joint fifth place, with Strathroy and LacPatrick rounding out the table.

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