A number of dairy processors have looked to cut the big price gap to Tirlán that emerged at the end of 2025.

Last month Tirlán confirmed it would hold its December base of 29.9p/l into both January and February 2026. With a 3p/l winter bonus also added in, the co-op is on a starting point of 32.9p/l.

In our December league the Tirlán price paid was over 2p/l ahead of second-placed Dale Farm and over 4p/l above those at the bottom of our table.

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That range in prices has narrowed, with Lakeland Dairies confirming last Thursday it is holding base at 26.3p/l, but with a 1.75p/l “input support” payment on January supplies along with its 3p/l winter bonus. That takes the Lakeland starting point to 31.05p/l.

Leprino Foods has increased its base price by 1.5p/l, taking it to 27p/l, with a 3p/l winter bonus also to be added in.

Strathroy Dairies followed suit on Tuesday, with a 1p/l increase to base, which leaves the Omagh processor on 28.5p/l, before a 3p/l winter bonus is included. In both cases, it is the first increase in base price applied by either processor since September 2024.

Dale Farm

The other processor to declare a January price is Dale Farm, with the co-op effectively holding its base price at 28.3p/l and its starting point at 31.3p/l when a 3p/l winter support payment is included.

That winter support payment has caused some confusion, with the situation not helped by the co-op’s text message to farmers on Monday, when its base price was listed at 31.3p/l, which was up 2p/l on the December price.

Last autumn, the co-op confirmed it was keeping its traditional 2p/l winter bonus unchanged across the three months from October to December.

But to keep pace with others, it would add in an additional support payment, which would mean the co-op pays 3p/l extra between October and January.

As a result, in December Dale Farm paid a 2p winter bonus and a 1p winter support payment, with this 1p payment included within the base price on members’ statements. In January 2026, there is effectively an extra 3p added to the base price on these statements.

That 3p/l support payment is due to come off in February, as is the 3p/l winter bonus at Leprino. All other processors pay a winter bonus in that month.

Commodities

Meanwhile, there are more signs that dairy commodity markets might have turned a corner, although further price rises are necessary to give added confidence this spring.

At the Dutch Dairy Board auction on Wednesday butter was up €100 to €4,200/t – the third week in a row that the price has risen.

Whole milk powder was unchanged at €3,120/t, while skim milk powder was up €60 to €2,430/t. That skim price has risen every week so far in 2026.

At the New Zealand Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction on Tuesday, the overall index was up a further 3.6% and it is now the fourth auction in a row when prices have risen.