Lakeland Dairies has confirmed its milk price for supplies from farmers in the month of October, opting to hold its price.
The board of the processor has decided to offer a base price of 34c/L at constituents of 3.4% butterfat and 3.3% protein for October milk to suppliers in the Republic of Ireland.
This base price is unchanged from the price paid for September.
For suppliers in Northern Ireland, a base price of 27.25p/L will be paid for milk supplied in October. Again, this is unchanged from the price paid for September milk.
A spokesperson for Lakeland Dairies said that sentiment in the global dairy markets has shown signs of positivity over the past number of weeks.
“This is happening against the backdrop of geopolitical challenges and sluggish global economic performance metrics which is keeping activity among buyers subdued, particularly in their forward commitments,” the spokesperson said.
“There is also a delicate balance between supply and demand in global dairy markets with production in New Zealand approaching its peak, while we enter the traditionally strong dairy demand period.
“Lakeland Dairies will continue to monitor the markets closely in the time ahead,” the processor’s spokesperson added.
Lakeland sustainability payment
The announcement of Lakeland’s price for October suppliers comes the week after the dairy business launched a farm sustainability strategy, with a key component being a payment to support farmers in carrying out sustainability actions.
The strategy ‘Farming for a Better Future’ focuses on rewarding farm families for taking positive actions on their farms through a new three year Sustainability Incentive Payment. The payment runs from 2024 to 2026.
For carrying out a range of sustainable actions and measures, farmers will receive a 0.5c/L or 0.5p/L payment.
According to Lakeland, the payment has been designed to support suppliers in reducing the carbon footprint of their enterprise, while delivering benefits for water quality, biodiversity, soil health and animal welfare.
Applications for the payment must be made before December 15 this year and can be submitted online via the Lakeland Dairies website.
The Sustainability Incentive Payment is open to all Lakeland Dairies milk suppliers, and the payment will be made for milk supplied from January 1, 2024.