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The board of Lakeland Dairies has agreed to make a “loyalty payment” of 0.65p/l on all litres supplied in 2024.
The money is to be paid out with the December milk statement on 15 January 2025 and for the average dairy farmer supplying 750,000 litres annually, it equates to an additional £4,875.
The board meeting on Wednesday also set a price on November milk, with the co-op deciding to hold at a base price of 40.8p/l. However, a 3p/l winter bonus now applies, taking the starting point to 43.8p/l.
The 13th payment effectively boosts this price to 44.45p/l, which takes the Lakeland price broadly into line with what rival processors paid for October milk.
Aurivo
Elsewhere, Aurivo is the latest co-op to offer suppliers the option of moving to a payment model based on A+B-C.
Suppliers in NI will be able to switch to a hybrid A+B-C milk payment from January 2025 onwards, similar to other processors.
While the exact details on payment ratios and base levels are yet to be finalised, suppliers opting for the hybrid payment will continue to receive bonuses on volume, TBC and SCC.
Those who don’t want to be paid on the basis of milk solids will be able to stay with the traditional increment-based payment model.
See also page 64
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