Almost all the milk processors lifted milk price again for December, bringing the milk price to almost the same level for all the milk buyers.

Kerry actually tops the monthly milk league and this excludes the “leading milk price” goodwill payment which is delivering €33m into Kerry suppliers this week alongside the December milk cheque.

For the majority of dairy farmers, December milk supplies are tiny (2% of the annual supply) so exactly what the December milk price is has little impact on income. However, it does keep milk price up and reflects positive vibes in the market as we head into calving and the important early months of 2020 milk supply for spring-calving dairy farmers.

North Cork also left milk price unchanged so they stay at the bottom of the table

Carbery decided to leave milk price the same for December. As a result, the four west Cork Co-ops held milk price the same, allowing the rest to leapfrog up beside them. West Cork suppliers won’t be too unhappy as they were well ahead of the chasing pack when it mattered earlier in the year.

North Cork also left milk price unchanged so they stay at the bottom of the table and are almost 2c/l (0.26c/kg MS) adrift of the others. North Cork hasn’t moved up on milk price for October, November or December, so there must be pressure on as most of the rest have lifted over 2c/l or more in some cases. In contrast, Tipperary Co-op was down at the bottom beside North Cork last month (November) but made a big jump, lifting milk price over 1.5c/l for December.

Global wrap

Milk supply is not increasing in the big milk regions and this is helping to underpin the positivity in dairy markets. New Zealand is predicting a very good milk price for its farmers and it will be it’s third or fourth highest milk price in its history. Despite this, supply is down slightly.

Land values in the South Island of New Zealand are falling fast relative to where they were a few years ago as limits and constraints on milk supply continue to develop over there.

Germany is the big player here in Europe and milk supply is flat compared to last year, if not a shade behind total 2018 supply.

The US is also flat on supply but price is rising so this could flush out more milk.

Read more

Dairygold lifts milk price for December supplies

Glanbia positive on milk market outlook

Dairygold budgets for 29.88c/l milk price in 2020