First Milk has today (Friday, September 29) announced that its member milk price will reduce by 0.85ppl from November 1, 2023.
The farmer-owned dairy cooperative said this will take its manufacturing standard litre to 36.00ppl, including the member premium.
Vice chair and farmer director of First Milk, Robert Craig, said: “We understand that this will be unwelcome news for our members, especially heading into the winter, as costs on farm remain stubbornly high.
“Dairy demand has been reduced for several months, putting downward pressure on pricing, which has impacted our returns.
“As always, we will continue to work hard to maximise our members’ milk price in the months ahead.”
At the start of the month (Friday, September 1), First Milk announced that its member milk price would be held from October 1, 2023.
At the time, the cooperative said its milk price will remain at 36.85ppl for a manufacturing standard litre, including the member premium.
Dairy farmers getting ‘shafted’ on milk price
Earlier this week, the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) in Northern Ireland said returns for dairy farmers for milk are inadequate and that they are “getting shafted” on prices.
According to the union, returns for milk are down 40% compared to this time last year and the majority of dairy farmers are not earning enough to cover production costs.
As well as this, UFU dairy chair Kenny Hawkes believes profits are being made further up the supply chain.
“Our food producers are getting shafted while others in the dairy chain are clearly making money,” he said.
“For more than six months now, nearly 20p/L has been taken from milk prices in Northern Ireland and things are not getting any better.
“This decline is only an issue in Northern Ireland as other regions have started to show recovery.
“Meanwhile, the largest proportion of our dairy farmers are not receiving enough to cover the cost of production let alone have any profit left over to support a home and family.”
Hawkes said it is not sustainable for farmers, especially when input prices remain higher than average.
“It’s utterly disheartening to once again, have to call out the failing dynamics within our food supply system.
“If this continues, dairy farmers will be put out of business which will have serious implications for the agri-food industry and our consumers.”
