Base milk prices in NI have risen to their highest levels for 16 months, with processors announcing price increases ranging from 0.5p to 2p/l for milk supplied in June.

The biggest increases have come from Dale Farm and Leprino Foods, with both processors opting for a 2p/l price rise.

In the case of Dale Farm, that puts suppliers on a starting price of 37.8p/l, while Leprino Foods is now on an “all-in” base of 36.75p/l.

Strathroy also set its June price earlier this week and opted for a 1p/l increase, bringing its base to 37p/l.

Last week, Lakeland Dairies set the tone for higher prices, albeit with a smaller increase of 0.5p/l to a 35.8p/l base.

All four processors are now paying their highest base milk price since February 2023. Aurivo and Tirlán are the only processors still to set a price for June, although both co-ops will do so by the end of this week.

Commodities

Despite the recent farmgate price increases, commodity markets relatively subdued.

Tuesday’s New Zealand GDT auction ended positively with a 0.4% price increase, although there were mixed outcomes for key commodities.

Butter rose by 0.8% with cheddar prices jumping 6.2%. However, skim milk powder (SMP) fell by 1.1%, with whole milk powder (WMP) down 1.6%.

DDB

On Wednesday, butter rose by €30 to €6,680/t at the weekly Dutch Dairy Board auction. WMP was steady at €3,810/t, but SMP fell €30 to €2,330/t.

Milk quality

Meanwhile, statistics published by DAERA show that milk quality in NI continues to increase year on year.

From January to April 2024, butterfat is averaging 4.26%, up from 4.18% last year and well above the 4.07% average back in 2020.

In contrast, protein has seen marginal improvement of around 0.05%, with the 2024 average just under 3.29%.

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