Even though it took 1p/l off base price, west of Ireland-headquartered Aurivo co-op has held on to lead our milk league analysis of prices paid in June.

It is the second month in a row when Aurivo has led our analysis of prices, with the co-op paying suppliers from a starting point of 41.1p/l. The decision to cut price by 1p/l came after a run of seven months when the Aurivo base was unchanged at 42.1p/l.

Once adjustments are made for milk quality and volume, the final Aurivo price paid in June to a producer with an annual supply of 750,000l, is 42.47p/l.

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That has been calculated at NI average milk solids recorded by DAERA for the same month in 2024, when butterfat averaged 4.08% and protein was at 3.28%. SCC averaged 194, with TBC at 23.

Those parameters are little changed from May and with butterfat and protein at an annual low point, it is base price that is the main determinant of the final price paid.

Just behind Auvrio, Tirlán / Fivemiletown is up one place to second having opted to hold at a base price of 39.9p/l.

Lakeland Dairies is up two places to third after it also left its price unchanged, with the co-op paying from a base of 39.8p/l and deciding to retain a 0.5p/l “unconditional bonus” for the second month in succession. Moving in the opposite direction was Dale Farm, with the co-op dropping two places to fourth after it decided to take 1p/l off base, leaving it at 40.8p/l. Once adjustments are made for milk quality and transport, it is a final price paid of 41.71p/l.

That is still ahead of Leprino Foods, who cut its price by 0.5p/l taking base to 39.25p/l, which is the lowest of any processor.

However, the final price of 41.55p/l includes a 0.75p/l Mozzarella bonus paid on milk of at least 4.08% butterfat and 3.26% protein.

That bonus keeps Leprino ahead of Strathroy at the foot of the table, despite the Omagh company holding base price at 40p/l.

Rolling average

Also included in our main June milk league is an analysis of the average price paid by each company over the 12-month period from July 2024 to June 2025.

Having led in seven of the last 12 months, it is no surprise that Tirlán is out in front with an average of 44.63p/l. All other positions are unchanged from last month, with Dale Farm remaining second, although the gap to Tirlán has widened slightly to 0.17p/l.

Payout

Shown in Figure 1 are the milk qualities recorded by each company in June, which are then used to make an estimate of the actual payout to a 750,000l producer with a supply profile in line with the NI average.

Tirlán might be behind Aurivo in our milk price league, but it moves ahead in terms of payout thanks to its suppliers producing the highest solids of any processor.