Tirlán continues to dominate our milk price analysis for a dairy farmer supplying 1m litres annually, topping the table for high, average and low solids milk as shown in Table B.

The milk qualities used to calculate the prices across the three different parameters are published in Table 1 on the opposite page.

On high solids milk, Tirlán leads on 40.89p/l and is the only processor to pay above the 40p/l threshold at this level of fat and protein.

There are no positional changes behind Tirlán, which means for the second month in a row, Aurivo finishes runner-up on 38.45p/l.

New higher-value increments for fat and protein help Dale Farm hold on to third place, edging out Lakeland Dairies in fourth.

Average solids

Moving to milk pricing for average solids, again Tirlán is out in front on 39.62p/l and has now finished in first place for six consecutive months.

Aurivo is once again the closest competitor to Tirlán, although the west of Ireland-based processor is nearly 2p/l behind with a price of 37.69p/l.

Lakeland Dairies holds on to third, paying 37.33p/l, followed by Strathroy in fourth on 37.14p/l. Dale Farm and Leprino round out the table.

Rolling 12 months

For the 12-month rolling period ending April 2024, Tirlán holds a commanding position across high and average solids milk. The Republic of Ireland-based co-op has paid an average 36.66p/l for high solids milk, easing to 35.54p/l paid for average solids over the last year.

On both milk qualities, Dale Farm remains in second place with Strathroy in third position and no changes in the bottom half of the table for Aurivo, Leprino Foods and Lakeland.

Strathroy continues to lead our analysis for milk produced at lower solids, a position the Omagh-based processor has held since the beginning of last year.

The only positional change sees Tirlán overtaking Dale Farm for second place. Having been over 0.5p/l behind Strathroy in the February league, Tirlán has closed to within 0.11p/l of the Strathroy 12-month rolling price for lower solids milk.

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