New incentives have been announced by Dale Farm in a bid to encourage more milk supply in the last three months of this year. Extra litres will obtain a top-up payment of 4p/litre in addition to the winter premium of 2p/l, which is to be paid on all litres supplied in October, November and December.

The extra 4p/l will apply on every litre above 95.7% of the producer’s milk supply during the corresponding period of 2015. This is based on the fact that milk supplies to Dale Farm so far this year are 4.3% down on 2015, so any volume above 95.7% of last year’s is considered to be ‘‘additional’’ litres.

The new incentives for three months compare with a simple winter premium introduced last year for just two months. According to Dale Farm, extra milk is needed to satisfy growing customer requirements in these months when daily milk production is at its lowest levels of the year.

The incentive of 4p/l for additional milk is in stark contrast to the European Union’s incentive to reduce milk output at this time. The first application period for that scheme ends on 21 September, for anyone who seeks the payment of around 12p/l for whatever drop in volume of milk they produce during the October to December period.

According to Dale Farm, the EU milk reduction scheme may make sense for a dairy farmer who has already cut production or firmly decided to reduce or quit milking, but does not benefit a farm business that is planning to continue in production.

Asked about the Dale Farm Milk Production Incentive Scheme, the new chief executive Nick Whelan said: “This initiative seeks to encourage a profile of milk supply to help meet customer requirements.