Lakeland Dairies has become the first processor to announce its December milk price; it decided to hold its milk price.

Suppliers of Lakeland Dairies will receive a base price of 36.5c/L including VAT and including a 1c/L butter bonus for milk produced in the last month of 2017.

This follows on from similar calls by the processor to hold its price in recent months.

Other processors are set to meet in the coming days to reveal their milk prices.

Meanwhile, the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that milk production on Irish farms last November was up 16.1%, compared to the same month in 2016.

Domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers was estimated at 391.4 million litres for November 2017. This equalled a difference of 54.3 million litres for the month of November year-on-year.

Between January and November of last year, milk production recorded an increase of 9.1% compared to the same period in the previous year; this represented a jump of almost 600 million litres.

New offices purchased by Lakeland Dairies

Lakeland Dairies has confirmed that the co-operative has purchased offices on the Dublin Road in Cavan, which used to be home to Quinn Insurance.

The offices are located on the main roundabout junction adjacent to the nearby Cavan Innovation and Technology Centre and the Kilmore Hotel, a spokesperson for Lakeland Dairies told AgriLand.

It is hoped that the new offices will enable Lakeland Dairies to establish a corporate and administrative centre, “which will provide significant benefits to the co-op’s organisation and operations as it continues to grow its business”.

The location provides convenient access to the main N3/M3 motorway artery and other routes.

The site – which the spokesperson said “represents extremely good value for money and particularly when compared to a new build price” – was purchased for an undisclosed figure.