Irish milk production continues to surge ahead in the first half of 2019.

The latest figures from Eurostat show Irish milk production for May stood at just under 1.1bn litres, which is 11% ahead of the same month last year.

This is the first time Ireland has ever produced more than 1bn litres in a single month.

For the first five months of 2019, Irish milk production stands at 3.2bn litres, which is almost 12% ahead of the same period last year.

Weather

However, it’s important to remember the very difficult weather conditions which hit Ireland last spring.

It’s likely Ireland will be close to 8bn litres for 2019 if weather conditions and grass growth remain favourable.

In the UK, milk production is also on an upward curve this year, despite the uncertainty hanging over British farming thanks to Brexit.

UK milk production for May stood at just under 1.4bn litres, which is almost 2% ahead of the same month last year.

This brings UK milk production for the first five months of 2019 (January to May) to a cumulative 6.45bn litres, which is 3% ahead of last year. Strong growth

Meanwhile, in Poland, the strong growth in milk production seen over recent years appears to be slowing.

Polish milk production for May came in at 1.05bn litres, which was marginally ahead (+0.3%) of the same month last year.

Polish milk production for the first five months of 2019 stands at 5bn litres, which is 3% ahead of the same period last year.