Lakeland Dairies continues to set the pace as it has been doing for most of the year in 2021. Another shift up in base milk price despite effectively leading the market since April in base price means it once again tops the monthly base price comparison.

As a company, it collects less fat and protein from suppliers, so it ranks down in the lower quarter when we rank the September milk cheques on the fat and protein collected from suppliers (Figure 2).

Dairygold tops that list as it collected milk with 3.82% protein and 4.47% fat which brought its September milk cheque to €19,000 compared with the Kerry Group, which got 3.66% protein and 4.31% fat. Hence, the September cheque in Kerry is only €17,892, (€1,100 less than Dairygold).

West Cork

In west Cork, the pressure was on Carbery to lift base price and it did lift it 1c/l and the co-ops passed it back to farmers.

A Carbery spokesperson said it had taken the decision to support the milk price despite cheese price lagging the market. Cheese markets have improved over the last couple of weeks, so expect the pressure to stay on the west Cork co-ops for October. Kerry Group lifted milk price but still sees most of the processors ahead of it and it remains just ahead of the small north Cork co-op, Boherbue, at the foot of the table.

The gap between the equivalent of the Ornua PPI and the average of the monthly milk league remains as the Ornua index went up at the start of the month again before the co-ops had set milk price. It means there is still a 3.1c/l gap in price between the average of the milk league and what Ornua says the market is returning.