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Dairy Industry News and Features

Our Weekly News Bulletin is available by email. To receive it please email info@ipmsltd.co.uk.

^{Note, all standard litre prices are those quoted by www.milkprices.com and are based on the following:

The liquid standard litre 4% bf, 3.3% protein, 30,000/ml Bactoscans, 200,000/ml SCC, 1 million litres a year on EODC but before seasonality, monthly profile payments, balancing, B price additions, capital retentions or annual incentive schemes. The manufacturing standard litre is to exactly the same specification with the exception of 4.2%bf and 3.4% protein.}

^{Remember this bulletin continues to be available free of charge and takes the team at Ian Potter Associates considerable time to produce. The only encouragement to keep producing it is a combination of enthusiasm, tag sales & enquiries from our readers.} ^{All views expressed in this bulletin are those of Ian Potter Associates and a shed load of dairy farmers. It is necessarily short and cannot deal with various issues that arise in any detail. As a result it must not be relied on as giving sufficient advice in any specific case. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the content but neither Ian Potter Associates nor Lydia Clare personally can accept any liability for any errors or omissions. Professional advice must always be taken before any decision is reached. For our privacy policy please click here.}

01/05/20

AMPE drops a whopping 18% (-5.16ppl) in a month

From the table at the top of this bulletin AHDB Dairy have confirmed that whilst MCVE continues to more or less hold its own AMPE has plummeted by 5.16ppl in just one month.

01/05/20

0.7ppl Milk Price reduction for Paynes Dairies (Liquid) suppliers – from 1st May

This reduces producers standard liquid litre price to 25.0ppl.

01/05/20

Freshways keep pushing producers towards the edge

In a letter to producers dated Friday 24th April, the only interpretation can be that Freshways have confirmed they have been buying cheap spot milk in order to “balance week to week and day to day based on sales fluctuations”. This statement hasn’t been well received by some of the producers Freshways told at very short notice to dump milk without payment from their processor.

01/05/20

Grahams give notice to six unwanted producers

Grahams Dairies in Scotland have given 12 months’ notice and the criteria for producer selection was: Attitude towards graham’s Dairy (AKA the awkward squad). Distance from Dairy. Milk Quality. Ability to forecast accurately. It’s a huge blow for the six involved who are estimated to supply towards 12 million litres in total. It is understood that producers are free to leave as soon as they want to but its unlikely given their alternative options are very limited today if indeed they have any.

01/05/20

Dairy Partners stand on with its May milk price

Along with Freshways, Dairy Partners confirmed to its producers it has been purchasing spot milk. The South Wales processor claims it needs the extra milk to increase factory output “utilising spare capacity with lower cost spot milk” rather than processing extra milk from its regular farmer suppliers. The declaration whilst up front and honest has not gone down well.

01/05/20

2ppl milk price reduction for Meadow Foods suppliers in Cumbria and South Wales - from 1st May (today)

This reduces producers standard liquid litre price to 22ppl for their A volume milk.

24/04/20

Freshways negative press continues and has registered with customers

During the past three weeks, the Daily Mail has run three stories involving Freshways. 9th April highlighted the on-farm dumping of milk. 16th April headline was “As his firm (Freshways) forces family farms to pour milk down the drain meet fat cat who creamed of a fortune from our farmers.” (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8223557/Balvinder-Nijjars-milk-firm-Freshways-cut-rates-40-cent-dairy-farmers-produce.

24/04/20

0.9ppl (1 Euro Cent) decrease for Arla members from May 1st

Arla are not immune from the worldwide effects of COVID19 but on the strength of this reduction, its product mix and ability to divert milk is greater than most. For sure this reduction wont help some of Arla’s processing competitors who appear desperate to drop farmgate prices asap and were praying for a 2ppl or more Arla price drop. This results in a standard manufacturing litre price of 29.

24/04/20

2ppl milk price decrease for Pensworth Dairy suppliers from May 1st

This reduces the liquid standard litre price to 22.5ppl and to 23ppl for producers who participate in Pensworths animal welfare standards. Earlier in the month Pensworth temporarily extended its April farmer payment terms and in addition to this 2ppl cut it has now introduced A and B pricing. The May A price, based on 22.5ppl/23.0ppl (as above) will be paid on 70% of the milk supplied whilst the remaining 30% will be based on average market returns achieved in May for skim milk concentrate which recently has been trucked to Poland having been processed by Yew Tree.

24/04/20

Milk production down 2.4%

According to the DEFRA figures total UK milk production in March was down 2.4% at 1.297 billion litres and compared to 2 years ago its down 3.2%.

24/04/20

Dairy Partners farmers furious they are buying cheap spot milk

In a letter to its farmer suppliers, Dairy Partners (mozzarella cheese in South Wales) jaw dropping statement states “Our revised budget plans are based on farm forecasted volumes and if no action is taken then we will not be able to take maximum opportunity for low cost milk, which in turn would impact all our Direct Supply producers. Please therefore ensure you keep to your own forecasted supply volume over the coming months.

24/04/20

Countryfile interview for Sunday prompts a recalculation by NFU

Last weeks declaration to DEFRA by the NFU that “2000 dairy farmers are suffering severe financial pressure” appears to have been recalculated ahead of Tom Heaps investigation into the Dairy Industry expected to be shown on Countryfile. The figures were crunched and processors and their supplying farmers now categorised by the NFU into high, medium and low risk.