NI Milk League: Glanbia Ireland makes it three in a row in March

A 4p/l increase in base price helped Glanbia Ireland/Fivemiletown retain its position on top of the NI milk league for March.

Including its 0.4p/l sustainability bonus, which is payable on all litres, the rise in base price brought Glanbia suppliers to a starting price of 39.15p/l.

Once adjustments are made for milk solids, Glanbia Ireland leads our league for the third successive month, paying 40.72p/l for milk collected on alternate days. It is the first time a milk price above the 40p/l mark has been recorded in our monthly analysis of milk prices in NI.

Milk quality

The March league is calculated using actual milk qualities recorded by DAERA in the same month of 2021, when butterfat averaged 4.13%, protein was at 3.25%, lactose at 4.78%, and 19 TBC and 191 SCC.

Changing positions

Dale Farm is the only other processor that paid in excess of 40p/l at the outlined milk solids and finishes runner-up for March, a gain of one place from the February league.

Glanbia Cheese climbs two places to finish fourth on 39.32p/l. The Magheralin processor raised its base by 3p/l to 37.5p/l, while at the outlined milk quality, it also pays a 0.4p/l mozzarella bonus.

Aurivo also climbs two places to finish fifth on 39.29p/l thanks to a 3p/l increase in base price. But moving in the opposite direction is Lakeland Dairies, slipping one place to sixth on 39.06p/l.

This Lakeland price does not take account of the co-op’s new milk pricing structure, with higher increments on offer when fat and protein percentages are above a chosen reference year (2018, 2019 or 2020). While some individual farmers may see a significant lift in price under the scheme in a particular month, the DAERA averages for fat and protein across the reference years are little different to that used in our 2022 calculations. Even if we did try to incorporate the scheme into the Lakeland price, it would add little more than 0.1p/l, and would have no impact on final league positions.

Behind Lakeland, Strathroy is bottom of the league, having slipped four places. Despite a 2p/l increase for March, a 1p/l winter bonus no longer applies, so it is a final price of 37.87p/l.

Rolling average

Following its continued dominance of the monthly league table, Glanbia Ireland/Fivemiletown remains top of the rolling league for the 12-month period ending March 2022.

For milk collected on alternate days, Glanbia paid an average of 33.37p/l, with Dale Farm holding on to third on 33p/l. Aurivo has gained two places to finish fourth.

On daily milk collections, Glanbia Ireland leads on 33.07p/l, with Aurivo overtaking Glanbia Cheese for third.

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