The reduction in milk supply in NI appears to be levelling off, with DAERA figures published last week indicating that milk supply in November was 4.4% behind 2015 levels.

Monthly milk supply in NI during 2016 has run behind previous year’s levels since April, with the sharpest reduction seen in July, when production was 6.5% behind 2015 volumes.

In October, supply was back 5.8%, down on the same month in 2015.

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Official figures for December have not be published yet; however, milk supply for the first 11 months of the year in 2016 stands at 2.5% behind the same period in 2015, at 2,034m litres.

This is essentially on a par with 2014 supply, when 2,028m litres were produced in NI the first 11 months of the year, but 2016 production is 10% ahead of 2013 levels when 1,848m litres were produced up to the end of November.

Dale Farm

The trend, which suggests that producers in NI are starting to produce more milk on the back of improved prices, is reflected in the results of the Dale Farm Milk Production Incentive Scheme. It offered a 4p/litre bonus on additional litres in October to December above 95.7% of the volume supplied in the same months in 2015.

In December, the bonus was paid to 713 farmers, and was worth an additional 0.33ppl on all milk supplied over the month.

In October, 504 farmers received the additional payment/ which translated into an additional 0.23ppl on all litres supplied. In November, the numbers of farmers receiving the additional payment increased to 591, with the payment working out at 0.27ppl on all milk supplied during the month.

Over the three-month period, the additional payment was worth an additional 0.3p a litre on all litres supplied.