The volume of milk produced on farms in Northern Ireland in February increased by 5.7% compared to the corresponding month in 2015, data from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) shows.
Some 182.04m litres of raw milk was produced in the North in February.
The figures from DARD also show that between January to December 2015 the volume of raw milk produced was 2264.90m litres; a 2.7% increase on the same period in 2015.
January 2016 some 187.59m litres of milk was produced, up from the 183.49m litres produced in the corresponding month last year.
Milk production volumes in the North, comparing 2005 and 2015 production figures, have increased by 398.83m litres – a 21% increase.
Meanwhile, in February 2016 the Northern Ireland average farmgate price of milk (including retrospective bonuses) was 18.54p/L(22.9c/L), 4.13p/L (5.11c/L) lower than February 2015.
Overall for 2015 (January to December) the weighted average farmgate price of milk during was
20.75p/L (26.84c/L), some 8.56p/L (11.07c/L) lower than the corresponding period in 2014.
Along with an increase in milk production, there has also been an increase in the dairy herd in Northern Ireland.
Figures from DARD show that the dairy herd in Northern Ireland stood at 313,600 cows in December 2015, a year-on-year increase of 2%.
Northern Ireland cow numbers are currently at their highest level on record.
