For a dairy farmer producing 1m litres annually, Table B shows prices paid for milk at high, average and low solids during January, with the differing milk qualities used in the calculations outlined in Table 1 on the opposite page.

For high solids milk, prices averaged 37.17p/l in January, with a gap of more than 4p/l from top to bottom.

Tirlán/Fivemiletown is out in front, paying 39.77p/l for high-solids milk and finishes more than 2.6p/l ahead of second-placed Dale Farm.

Aurivo moves up to third, helped in part by its winter bonus and an increase in the value of its fat and protein payments to incentivise higher solids milk.

For 2024, Aurivo will pay 0.024p/l for each 0.01% incremental change in butterfat from a 3.87% base. Protein value increases to 0.04p/l for each 0.01% increment on a 3.21% base.

Behind the top three, Strathroy climbs two places to finish fourth, with Leprino Foods unchanged in fifth and Lakeland Dairies slipping three places to sixth.

Average solids

Across all processors, the average price paid in January for milk at average solids is 36.39p/l, up from 35.59p/l in December.

Tirlán remains on top of the table, with Aurivo moving up two places to second, while Strathroy has a similar positional gain when finishing third.

The lower half of the table consists of the three processors that do not pay winter bonuses in January.

Dale Farm is fourth and Leprino is fifth, with its volume, mozzarella and sustainability premiums keeping it above Lakeland.

Rolling 12 months

Moving to milk pricing over a rolling 12-month period ending January 2024, Tirlán continues to lead our analysis for high solids milk, with a price of 36.13p/l, followed by Dale Farm in second and no positional changes from the previous league. At average milk solids, Dale Farm remains out in front with a 12-month price of 35.16p/l, ahead of Tirlán and Strathroy, although just 0.22p/l covers the top three positions. For low solids milk, Strathroy is still top, paying a rolling price of 34.73p/l.

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