This is a subscriber-only article
As the only processor with a starting price above 35p/l, Glanbia Ireland/Fivemiletown finishes on top of the January milk leagues for a 1m litre producer – see Table B.
Similar to the analysis for a 750,000l supplier, we have made some changes to our 1m litre tables, to apply from January 2022.
The main change is that a standardised TBC and SCC value has been applied across all three milk qualities, rather the previous assumption that only a farmer producing high solids was also supplying milk at lower TBC and SCC levels.
Lower cell counts are ultimately the result of parlour and shed hygiene, and are not directly correlated to milk solids.
It means that “super hygiene” bonuses for milk below 10 TBC and 100 SCC are no longer included. In reality, only a small minority of farmers were able to achieve these bonuses on a consistent basis.
For January, the milk qualities used to calculate each league position are outlined in Table 1 on the opposite page.
For high solids milk, the average price across all suppliers is 36.68pl, down from 37.25p/l in the previous month, as fewer winter bonus payments apply.
Glanbia Ireland tops the table on 38.22p/l, followed by Aurivo on 36.68p/l. Dale Farm is positioned in mid-table, followed by Glanbia Cheese.
Average solids
Moving to average solids milk, Glanbia Ireland again leads the table, followed by Aurivo and Dale Farm. Despite paying the lowest base price last month, a 0.65p/l volume bonus and 0.4p/l mozzarella bonus helps Glanbia Cheese finish fifth.
Lakeland has slipped from first to last place, and its price excludes the new enhanced increments for those able to increase solids when compared to a specific base year. But even if we assume the average supplier received an extra 0.3p/l-0.4p/l as a result of the new payment structure, it would not change the co-op’s final position in January.
12-month average
Moving to the 12-month rolling average price and Glanbia Ireland continues to dominate, topping the price analysis across all three parameters.
On high solids milk, Lakeland is Glanbia’s closest competitor in third place, followed by Dale Farm.
For average solids milk, Glanbia leads Dale Farm by 0.32p/l. From top to bottom, the differential has widened out slightly to 1.17p/l.
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