Bandon paid the top milk price in November, with a milk league payment of €4.234 per kilogramme of milk solids. The simple average price paid for milk in November was €4.092, a 2.6% drop from October’s €4.20/kg.

The drop since the peak in April is €1.07 per kg of milksolids, or 21% off the peak monthly average (€5.17). The Irish Dairy Board’s Purchase Price Index (PPI) is down 34% this year, so rapid market improvement is required to avoid further farmgate cuts ahead of the spring supply peak.

It must be noted that farmgate prices did not fully reflect the highs of market returns in early 2014, when the PPI would have justified higher prices.

All four west Cork co-ops that make up the Carbery group are in division 1 (above €4.10/kg) for November, as are Boherbue, Arrabawn and Kerry.

The improved performance of Arrabawn has been a notable feature of the 2014 milk league, with the co-op achieving a far better ranking than previous years when it tended to be more frequently in the lower divisions.

Division 2 this month includes Glanbia, Centenary Thurles, Dairygold, Aurivo, Tipperary and Lakeland. They all paid a milk league price of between €4 and €4.10 per kg. In c/litre terms, they are all paying a VAT-exclusive price that is below 30c/litre for milk at 3.6% fat and 3.3% protein.

Glanbia has committed to paying 0.5c/litre from its milk price stability fund for all 2014 supply to farmers who sign its milk supply agreement. If this conditional 0.5c/litre top-up was included in its November price, it would have a milk league price of €4.117 per kg (rather than €4.05). This would move Glanbia into division 1.

Division 3 for November includes North Cork co-op and Town of Monaghan.

In order to compare prices on a fair and accurate basis, the Irish Farmers Journal milk league uses the average solids for Irish milk supplied in 2013 – 3.39% protein and 3.94% butterfat. It appears that average butterfat for milk supplied in 2014 will be close to 4.00%, while protein is likely to be over 3.40%. This leaves the base prices quoted at 3.6% fat and 3.3% protein significantly out of line with the milk now being delivered by farmers. Farmers with good milk solids will be spared the worst of milk price extremes in 2015.