As farmers flock to Balmoral this week, they will be buoyed by the Lakeland milk price rise.

For many farmers, in the top half of the country especially, this will be the difference between loss-making and break-even milk.

Interestingly, when you see an established global dairy giant like FrieslandCampina in the Netherlands this week announcing it needs to lay off almost 10% of its workforce (1,800 jobs), it shows the fine lines balancing farmer returns and a sustainable processing business.

The FrieslandCampina milk pool isn’t too dissimilar to the total island of Ireland milk pool combined. It likely means Friesland will make a net loss once 2023 accounts are finalised. It will be intriguing to see where Irish processors’ profits end up.