NI milk league: Dale Farm rises to the top in August

A 3p/l increase to base price has propelled Dale Farm to the top of the NI milk league for August.

Having finished bottom of the previous monthly league table, the 3p/l price increase put suppliers on a starting point of 41.3p/l, which is 1.3p/l ahead of its nearest rival.

Excluding winter bonus payments, it is the highest base price paid in NI going back to January 2023.

Factoring in adjustments for milk solids and making a deduction for milk collection, Dale Farm finishes out in front on 42.7p/l and tops the league for the first time since October 2023.

Milk quality

All prices published in the August league table are calculated at 4.18% butterfat, 3.34% protein, 4.69% lactose, 24 total bacterial count, (TBC), and 218 somatic cell count, (SCC), which are the figures recorded by Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) for the same month in 2023.

Milk solids continue to rise month on month and compared to the previous league, the increase in fat and protein alone, adds close on 0.75p/l to the farm gate prices paid.

Behind Dale Farm, a 2p/l price increase to a base of 39.65p/l has lifted Tirlán/Fivemiletown one place to finish second.

Under the co-op’s A+B-C payment model, the higher base translates into higher values per kg of butterfat and protein. The final price paid in our calculations of 42.25p/l is just 0.45p/l off that from Dale Farm.

Elsewhere, despite a 1p/l increase to a 40p/l base, Strathroy falls two places to finish third on 41.4p/l for August.

All processors in the lower half of the table also opted for a 1p/l increase to base price, which sees Aurivo finishing in fourth, a drop of two places from the previous league.

Lakeland slips to fifth with Leprino Foods finishing bottom of the league on 40.08p/l, more than 2.6p/l behind table-topping Dale Farm.

Rolling average

Tirlán remains out in front when comparing milk prices over the rolling 12-month period ending August 2024, with an average 37.76p/l.

Dale Farm is its closest competitor with a 12-month price of 36.85p/l, while Strathroy is unchanged in third. There are also no positional changes in the lower half of the table.

Co-op payout

Shown in Figure 1 is an estimate of the August pay-out to a 750,000l supplier, using the actual fat and protein values recorded by each processor last month.

Unsurprisingly, Dale Farm leads with a pay-out of £24,749. All positions are the same as in our main league analysis.

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