Bonus payments made by some milk processors to encourage winter milk production has helped to negate the impact of price cuts for October milk.

Both Dale Farm and Tirlán cut their October price by 3p/l, but when the various payments are added in, the starting point for October is unchanged from September.

Dale Farm is again paying its traditional 2p/l winter bonus from October to December, however, like last year, it will top-up this payment with an additional 1p/l over the next three months and an extra 3p/l in January 2026. It effectively means the co-op is adding 3p/l to base prices between October and January.

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October base

The 3p/l cut in October, takes the Dale Farm base price down to 33.3p/l, to include a 0.3p/l loyalty payment. But with the winter bonus and top-up included, that starting price is 36.3p/l, unchanged from September 2025.

In the case of Tirlán it took 3p/l off its October price, taking it down to 32.4p/l to include a 0.4p sustainability payment. However, the co-op pays a 3p/l winter bonus from October through to February.

A similar 3p/l reduction has been applied by Strathroy, taking its base down to 32.5p/l. The Omagh based company does not pay a winter bonus on October milk, with its 3p/l payment applying from November to February.

Lakeland Dairies has the same winter payment bonus as Strathroy. Last Wednesday the co-op confirmed a 3.5p/l cut to its base price, taking it down to 32.3p/l.

Leprino Foods has also cut its base price by 3.5p/l, taking it down to 31.5p/l. However, the Magheralin-based processor does pay a 3p/l bonus between October and January, which effectively takes its starting point for October milk to 34.5p/l.

Update

In an update to suppliers, Leprino chief executive Paul Vernon has said that current market returns point to a price of around 28p/l, but with the caveat that prices have not bottomed out and until there is a reduction in milk supply, markets will remain weak.

Commodities

Sources maintain that dairy traders are continuing to buy short in the hope of lower prices and that continues to drag the market down.

The Global Dairy Trade (GDT) index took another hit on Tuesday, falling 3% to an average price of US$3,678/t, its lowest point since August 2024. Butter saw the biggest price drop, falling 7.6% to US$5,886/t.

After seeing butter price unchanged last week, the price at the Dutch Dairy Board auction dropped another €270/t on Wednesday, taking it back to €4,830/t. Whole milk powder was down €60 at €3,300/t, with skim down €10 at €2,030/t.