Northern Ireland’s largest milk processor, Dale Farm, has announced its August milk price.
Board members today announced they would hold the co-op’s standard litre price at 28.2p/L plus a 0.3p/L loyalty bonus.
The firm is also currently paying 3p/L for additional litres over and above last year’s production from July to March.
On the milk cheque, this amounted to an extra 0.26p/L on average in July, with around 60% of suppliers eligible for the payment.
The firm is yet to give any solid indication of the direction of travel for winter prices, however, highlighted that from October until December, prices will be further boosted by a 2p/L winter premium.
How the Dale Farm price compares
The price is the highest locally but sits behind Arla, which is offering its 2,500 UK farmers 31.38p/L for its standard manufacturing litre in September.
The Dale Farm news has come out within minutes of rival Lakeland Dairies also announcing it will hold its Northern Ireland milk price at 27.5p/L.
Lakeland has lagged behind on the standard litre price for a few months. However, quality bonuses and a lack of cartage fees narrows the real price gap.
In a statement made earlier today, the processor outlined that it will “continue to pay the highest possible milk price in line with market conditions”.
