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NI milk production totalled 665m litres over the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, up 1.8% on the 653m litres produced during the same period last year.
The statistics, published by DAERA, confirm that Q1 milk production in 2024 is the highest on record for NI, surpassing the previous high of 660m litres in 2022.
March production totalled 236m litres, a 1.8m litre increase on the same month last year and a 25m litre rise from February levels.
Milk production in Britain for Q1 is also running higher year on year with 3,085m litres delivered for processing, up marginally on the 2023 output of 3,065m litres. However, that 2024 total is still below 2021 production volumes of 3,099m litres.
While UK production is up year on year, in the Republic of Ireland, official statistics show a sharp decline in spring output during Q1.
Irish production totalled 1,254m litres in Q1, down 8% or 108.7m litres on 2023 levels and a 105m litre reduction on the previous year.
Milk prices
The DAERA statistics also show farm gate milk prices averaged 37.66p/l in March, up 0.86p/l on February and 0.3p/l higher than the same month in the previous year.
It is the first time in 13 months that DEARA has recorded a monthly milk price which is higher than the corresponding month in the previous year.
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