Winter milk bonuses should double this year to keep pace with higher input costs, the farm organisations have claimed.

While dairy processors are paying bonuses of 3c/l to 9c/l for winter milk and liquid milk contracts, both the ICMSA and IFA claimed that prices of 13-15c/l were required to reflect the increased feed and other input costs.

IFA liquid chair Keith O’Boyle said Teagasc analysis shows the cost of producing winter/liquid milk has escalated significantly this year.

He estimated that a premium of 13c/l is now required to encourage winter milk production and prevent an exodus from the sector.

Noel Murphy, chair of the ICMSA’s dairy committee, said production costs had increased by 30-50% across all dairy farms and producers on fixed winter contracts needed to avoid the price cost squeeze to achieve a margin.

“ICMSA believes that a 15c/l should be the minimum bonus attracted to the production of winter milk to ensure continuity of supply and allow a reasonable margin,” Murphy said.

A recent Irish Farmers Journal survey found that ration costs are running €120-130/t ahead of last year, while CSO figures show farm input prices increased by 37% over the past 12 months.

Meanwhile, Tirlán is to pay 4c/l on all non-contracted December and January milk supplies, plus 3c/l on all non-contracted February milk.

Milk contracted under the co-op’s autumn-calving scheme will receive a premium of 8.9c/l (VAT inclusive), Tirlán stated.

Aurivo is paying a winter bonus of 7.385c/l (VAT inclusive) on supplies from October to March. Tipperary Co-op is paying a bonus of 3c/l on winter milk subject to supply levels ranging from 10% to 30% of peak deliveries between November and February.

Similarly, Lakeland Dairies is understood to be paying a premium of 3c/l in November and 5c/l for December to February. However, milk deliveries during these months must be between 40% and 50% of peak supplies to secure the premium payments.

Strathroy is paying a 5c/l bonus for all milk delivered in November and February, with the top-up being 10c/l for December and January.

Dairygold operates a winter milk scheme confined to 130m litres, or 9% of its milk pool, which pays a 5.6c/l premium to suppliers.

Teagasc Winter Milk Week

Meanwhile, this year’s Teagasc Winter Milk Week takes place from Monday to Friday, 21 to 25 November, with a series of on-farm walks taking place in a different county each day. The focus will be on managing production costs this winter.