With all processors leaving base prices unchanged for July, this keeps Glanbia Ireland/Fivemiletown at the summit of the Northern Ireland milk league for the fourth consecutive month.

The Virginia-based processor has now topped the milk league for six of the seven months during 2021, with March being the only month that it failed to finish in first place.

Starting from a base of 29.5p/l for milk produced last month, Glanbia Ireland tops the table on 30.43p/l for milk collected on alternate days once the relevant bonuses are applied on milk quality.

Milk quality

For the July league table, the milk qualities used in the price calculations are set at 3.95% butterfat, 3.26% protein, 4.69% lactose, 21 TBC and 227 SCC, with the outlined figures taken from DAERA statistics for the same month last year.

Both butterfat and protein are slightly higher than the corresponding values used in the June league table.

However, with no movement in base prices from any processor, there has been no change to league positions for July.

Chasing pack

This means that, once again, Dale Farm finishes in third place on 30.13p/l.

As with the previous month, Dale Farm paid the highest base price across all processors on 29.8p/l.

However, it applies a transport charge to milk collected on alternate days unlike Glanbia Ireland and it is this deduction that keeps Dale Farm from topping the table.

Aurivo remains in fourth place for the third month in a row. The west of Ireland processor continues to pay a base of 29.5p/l and once premiums on milk quality apply, minus transport costs, Aurivo paid 30.12p/l for July.

Glanbia Cheese remains in fifth place, while Lakeland Dairies holds off Strathroy for sixth place at the bottom end of the table.

12-month rolling average

Moving to milk pricing over the past 12 months, Glanbia Ireland/Fivemiletown leads the way for milk on alternate day and daily collections.

For milk collected on alternate days, Glanbia Ireland tops the table by paying 29.88p/l over the past 12 months. The price gap from the top to the bottom of the league is just 0.63p/l.

There are no positional changes from the previous milk league, which means Lakeland Dairies remains in third place on 29.83p/l, while Glanbia Cheese stay in fourth spot.

For daily milk collections, Glanbia Ireland leads the pack on 29.62p/l. Glanbia Cheese is the closest challenger in third place with Aurivo in fourth.

Read more

Determining straw requirements for winter housing and lambing

Significant supply falls in big milk countries