This is a subscriber-only article
A 1p/l increase in base price has kept Glanbia Ireland/Fivemiletown on top of the NI milk league for September.
The increase put Glanbia Ireland’s suppliers on a base of 30.5p/l.
With premiums for milk quality and volume applied, the Virginia-based processor finished on 32.28p/l for milk supplied on alternate days last month.
It is the sixth month in a row that Glanbia Ireland has finished out in front.
September is the second month this year, and just the fourth occasion in over five years when there was an across the board price increase from all milk buyers in NI.
The price increases ranged from 0.5p/l at Strathroy up to the 1p/l from Glanbia. Elsewhere, Dale Farm, Aurivo and Glanbia Cheese all applied a 0.75p/l increase, while Lakeland Dairies opted for a 0.6p/l price rise.
Milk quality
Across the year, the average dairy farm in NI sees monthly supply hitting its lowest level during September.
As milk supply drops, milk quality increases. On average, butterfat and protein during September was worth 1p/l more than the corresponding value back in May when production hit peak levels.
For the calculations used in the September league, data recorded by DAERA for the same month in 2020 is used, with butterfat set at 4.14%, protein 3.38%, lactose 4.65% with TBC 21 and SCC 229.
Price gap
Behind Glanbia, Dale Farm finishes third for the seventh consecutive month, paying 31.89p/l at the outlined milk quality.
Despite paying from the highest base price of 30.8p/l, transport costs of just over 0.5p/l on alternate day collection pushes Dale Farm behind Glanbia Ireland.
Glanbia Cheese paid the lowest base at 29.75p/l, yet finishes fourth on 31.62p/l, a gain of one place on the previous month thanks to its 0.4p/l mozzarella bonus, which applies at the milk quality used in the calculations.
Slipping one positon to fifth is Lakeland Dairies, while Aurivo and Strathroy are unchanged in sixth and seventh places respectively.
12-month rolling average
For the 12-month period ending September 2021, Glanbia Ireland/Fivemiletown continues to lead prices for alternate day and daily collections.
For alternate day collection, Glanbia has paid an average of 30.49p/l. All positions are unchanged from last month, with Lakeland trailing Glanbia Ireland by just 0.04p/l.
On daily collections, the Glanbia Ireland rolling average price is 30.22p/l, which is up 0.29p/l on the previous month. Glanbia Cheese remain in third and is the only other processor to pay above 30p/l for daily collections.
SHARING OPTIONS: