Of the six main milk processors in NI only Leprino Foods has left its pricing model unchanged from 1 January 2026.

In most other cases, the changes are fairly minor and only have a small impact on the final prices paid.

That includes NI’s largest milk processor, Lakeland Dairies, which has completed a transition to payments based on milk solids using an A+B-C model, where A is the price per kg of protein, B is the price per kg of butterfat and C is the cost of processing milk.

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Most suppliers switched to A+B-C from 1 January 2025, with the remainder paid using this model from January 2026.

Throughout 2025, Lakeland quoted its milk price based on 3.22% protein and 3.90% butterfat, however, from 2026, this is now 3.25% protein and 3.95% butterfat.

Raising the base for both protein and butterfat does impact prices – if the base had remained unchanged, the final Lakeland price in our January 2026 milk league would have been 33.68p/l, rather than the 33.36p/l published.

Strathroy

A similar change has been applied by Strathroy, with its protein base also increasing from 3.22% to 3.25% and its butterfat base going from 3.90% to 3.95%. However, the Omagh processor has increased its payment for each 0.01% incremental change in butterfat from 0.03p to 0.036p/l, so in our 750,000l league analysis, the January price is only down 0.09p on what it might have been.

Dale Farm

At Dale Farm, in early 2025 the co-op committed to reviewing every three months the value it puts on butterfat and protein increments.

From 1 April 2025, each 0.01% change from a butterfat base of 3.95% was valued at 0.041p/l and each 0.01% change in protein from a base of 3.24% at 0.067p/l.

Those values remained unchanged through the rest of 2025, but from 1 January 2026 have been revised to 0.034p/l and 0.055p/l respectively. That change has effectively cut the Dale Farm price in our 750,000l league from 34.25p to 33.87p/l.

Aurivo

The other processor to revise its payment increments is Aurivo, with the co-op changing its butterfat base from 3.89% to 3.91%, with each 0.01% incremental change moving from 0.027p to 0.030p/l.

For protein, the base has changed from 3.23% to 3.25%, with increments going from 0.048p to 0.053p/l. When we apply those changes, the impact on the 750,000l price in our main milk league is virtually neutral.

Tirlán

Across all NI processors, it is Tirlán which now quotes a price each month from the lowest base for butterfat of 3.88%, with its protein base at 3.23%. The co-op has left this unchanged, but has made amendments to encourage suppliers to produce lower TBC and SCC milk.

To the end of 2025, Tirlán paid a bonus of 0.45p/l for milk with a TBC less than or equal to 11, while a TBC of 12 to 30 attracted a 0.35p/l bonus.

From 1 January 2026, the 0.45p/l bonus is paid on milk with a TBC less than or equal to 15, with a 0.35p/l adjustment from 16 to 30.

On SCC, Tirlán paid 0.4p for milk below 150 and 0.3p for 150 to 200. That has now changed to 0.4p for SCC at or below 175 and 0.3p for 176 to 200. On top of that, where producers supply milk with a TBC less than or equal to 15 and SCC at or below 175, there is a ‘Premium Quality Bonus’ of 0.3p/l added in.

Similar pricing around TBC and SCC has been applied by Aurivo since July 2025. For milk with TBC at or below 15, there is a 0.25p bonus and for SCC there is a 0.3p/l adjustment when it is below 200. When both parameters are met, Aurivo adds in a “combined bonus” of 0.35p/l.

In effect, in our 1m litre league analysis, where we have traditionally kept TBC unchanged at 15 and SCC at 175, the Tirlán price is now adjusted by 1.15p/l, while the Aurivo base is increased by 0.9p/l.

For a Leprino producer supplying milk at TBC of 15 and SCC at 175, the same adjustment is 0.55p/l, while at Lakeland it is 0.50p/l. Strathroy is at 0.35p/l, with Dale Farm at 0.2p/l.