A maturing dairy herd and a better April have seen a surge in Irish milk output for 2017.

Good grass covers and excellent grazing conditions are seeing cows approach peak milk output, with processing capacity about to be stretched to the limit.

Carbery reports a 16% increase in milk supplies last week compared with the same time last year. Aurivo is 12% higher for the first two weeks of April.

Glanbia has no official figures, but farmers are reporting percentage output increases in the high teens.

Irish dairy output increased by 13% to 6.34bn litres in 2015 as quotas ended. Another 300m litres were added last year, despite a cold spring and poor prices. Dairygold says its 2016 output was up 24% on 2014. A double-digit output increase this year would mean an extra billion litres of milk produced over 2015.

The increase is being driven by the heifers introduced to the dairy herd post-quota now approaching their peak output years – there are 135,542 more dairy cows of four years or older compared with 2015.

It means farmers are poised to make good on some of the losses incurred last year if milk prices hold for a few months. The omens aren’t bad in that regard – the GDT auction was up 3.1% on Tuesday, and heavy rains are curbing late-season output in New Zealand.

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