Despite processors taking base prices down by 2.25 to 2.5p/l for September milk, as shown in Table B, the final prices paid to 1m litre producers of average quality milk have remained above 40p/l in most cases.
Our 1m litre leagues are calculated at the average milk qualities shown in Table 1 on the opposite page.
Those milk qualities are up significantly when compared to August milk, in line with the actual increase recorded by processors in September.
Across average quality milk, Dale Farm is just 0.01p/l ahead of Lakeland Dairies and 0.1p/l ahead of Tirlán in third, with all three also closely matched for high quality milk.
All three processors have payment models in place to incentivise high solids milk. When compared to the 750,000l league, Dale Farm has moved up in our 1m litre calculations because there are more litres to cover transport costs charged by the co-op.
For low solids milk, Aurivo is out in the lead as the various bonuses it pays for good milk hygiene have a greater influence over the final price paid. Just 0.26p separate the top five.
Rolling prices
Shown in Table C are the 12-month rolling average prices paid by each processor since October 2024, across the three milk qualities.
With prices coming down, those 12-month averages are generally back by 0.2 to 0.3p/l when compared to last month.
Tirlán leads for both average and high solids milk, ahead of Dale Farm in second. The main change from last month sees Leprino move up to fourth for average quality milk, ahead of Lakeland in fifth.
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