Dale Farm is expected to resume collecting milk directly from suppliers in early 2019, as the contract arrangement with the external logistics company, Bibby Distribution, comes to an end. Dale Farm has traditionally operated an in-house milk collection service, predominantly using its own transport fleet with the support of some smaller private contractors. However, in a cost-saving measure, the co-op made the decision to outsource its entire milk collection. Bibby Distribution was successful in tendering for the contract and commenced milk collection in April of this year. The company also undertook milk collection for First Milk in Britain, with one in every 12 pints of milk produced in the UK collected through its logistics service. However, it is understood that Bibby Distribution is exiting milk collection both here and in Britain, and as such Dale Farm aims to resume collecting milk from its suppliers from January.