Of the six major milk processors in NI, Strathroy is the only one to leave its base price unchanged for March supplies.

The Omagh processor held at a base of 28.5p/l and has now kept that price unchanged since the start of the year. However, its 3p/l winter bonus drops off in March, so final prices paid will be down when compared to the previous month.

A 2p/l winter bonus also drops out of the Aurivo price, although the co-op has increased its base by 1p and added in a further 1p from its milk price stability fund, so its starting point effectively remains unchanged at 29.75p/l.

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Leprino Foods also increased its base, with a 0.75p/l increase taking it to 27.75p/l.

Last week, Lakeland added 2.55p/l to its base, taking it to a starting point of 28.85p/l, although a 3p/l winter bonus drops out, as does a 1.75p/l input support payment.

A 3p/l winter bonus also no longer applies to the Tirlán price, however, the co-op increased its base by 1p to 30.9p/l.The same 1p/l increase was applied by Dale Farm, which takes its base to 29.3p/l to include a 0.3p/l loyalty payment. There will be a full analysis of NI prices in our milk league next week.

Commodities

When setting March prices, most processors warned of a challenging market as Europe heads towards peak milk supply.

At the Dutch Dairy Board auction on Wednesday butter was down another €100 to €4,000/t, with Whole Milk Powder again unchanged at €3,300/t. Skim rose €30 to €2,730/t.

The New Zealand Global Dairy Trade auction on Tuesday saw prices take a hit for the second time in a row. The overall index was back 2.7% at US$4,143/t, with butter down 7.9% and anhydrous milk fat dropping 9.6%.