This is a subscriber-only article
Dale Farm has notified suppliers of a new three-year "milk production realignment scheme", which will come into effect from August 2024.
Under the scheme, farmers receive a monthly base volume for the six months running from August to January.
That reference volume is the average litres supplied to the co-op during each relevant month over the last three years.
Example
For example, a farmer supplying 70,000 litres in August 2023, 72,000 litres in August 2022 and 68,000 litres in August 2021 has a base reference volume of 70,000 litres for the outlined month, as this is the three-year average supplied to Dale Farm.
Over the next three years, for every additional litre produced above 70,000 litres for the outlined month, Dale farm will pay an additional 4p/l.
Realigning supply
In a letter outlining the scheme details to co-op members, Dale Farm states it receives 40% more milk during peak supply in May compared with September, when monthly milk intake reaches its lowest level each year.
The three-year scheme is geared at “delivering more milk in the trough months to optimise the group’s processing capacity” according to the correspondence.
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