Milk supplies across the country are mixed. Output in the east and southeast is generally running 1-2% above last year’s levels, but deliveries along the western seaboard are as much as 4% under 2025 on a year-to-date basis.

Processors report a serious lift in solids this year, with values trending well above average historic levels.

A spokesperson for Tirlán said that milk supplies for the year to-date were running 2.1% ahead of 2025 levels, and were 7.4% ahead of the three-year average for 2025, 2024 and 2023.

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Lakeland Dairies said its supplies were “largely in line with 2025”, although week-on-week deliveries were back 2% compared to last year on the back of the recent “cooler and wet weather”.

A spokesperson for Dairygold said supplies to the co-op were up 1% on a year-to-date basis compared to 2025, but were “marginally down” week-on-week versus last year.

Flat

Supplies to the west Cork co-ops are approximately 1% ahead of 2025, and are broadly flat for the three-year average for 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Volumes to Kinisla are down 4.5% on a year-to-date basis, and are back 4% week-on-week versus 2025.

The variation in milk supplies is attributed to regional differences in grass growth and grazing conditions.

Despite the difficult year, however, milk output is still tracking close to last year’s record level of 8.84 billion litres.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that total milk intake to the end of April was estimated at 2.38 billion litres, down 6m litres (-0.3%) when compared with the same period in 2025.

Milk intake for April was estimated at 1bn litres, a decrease of 37.1m litres (-3.5%) when compared with April 2025.

In terms of milk supplies, ArraTipp and Aurivo had not responded to queries by the time the newspaper went to press.