Tirlán has informed its farmer suppliers based in Northern Ireland that from January 2025, all milk will be paid under an A+B-C price model.

The move is a ground-breaking development within the Northern Ireland dairy sector, deviating from the current status quo, whereby all processors incentivise yield over milk solids.

Tirlán announced its intentions of moving to a solids-based system back in March 2021 and in the runup to January 2025, suppliers have two options for transitioning to the A+B-C model.

Option one allows farmers to have their milk priced under the current system, where volume is effectively rewarded, although butterfat and protein will increase in value over the next three years.

Hybrid option

Under option two, farmers can choose to have 25% of their milk paid under an A+B-C system, with the remaining 75% paid under the existing pricing model. This will be backdated to start on 1 April 2022.

From 1 January 2023, the A+B-C portion will increase to 50%, then 75% by January 2024, before moving to 100% by 1 January 2025.

From January 2025 onwards, all of Tirlán’s NI milk pool will be paid under an A+B-C model, regardless of which payment option farmers select for the interim period.

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