DAIRY IN FOCUS
15-PAGE SPECIAL FEATURE – P84
March 8 2024 | £4.10 | Become a member from £2.09 | farmersguardian.com
THE HEART OF AGRICULTURE MACHINERY
FARM PROFILE
DIVERSIFICATION
Classic kit: A closer look at John Deere’s SoundGard
Change of direction proves successful
New income stream from home-reared meat
PAGE 72
PAGE 20
PAGE 19
PRICES EDGE UP
● Smaller dairies looking to recruit ● Muller and Arla raise their prices INDUSTRY figures have welcomed positive moves in the milk markets but have raised concerns as confidence remains low. For March, Arla announced a 0.88ppl increase in the conventional manufacturing milk price to 40.06ppl. For Muller, there was an April price boost of 1ppl. This will take the price to 37.5ppl from April 1, including the 1ppl Muller Advantage premium, which was paid quarterly in arrears. NFU dairy board chair Michael Oakes welcomed the rise in prices, but said there was still a lack of confidence in the industry, with producers reluctant to invest and some thinking of exiting.
Cost He said: “The cost of new legislation and the attractiveness of environmental schemes is also a factor, but it should not be a binary choice. Dairy farmers should be able to produce milk viably and
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play their part in protecting the environment. “This is particularly important in Wales where the Welsh Government has promoted and helped with investment in dairying and on the other hand is considering introducing environmental schemes which would make dairying unattractive.”
Concerned NFU Scotland milk committee chair Bruce Mackie said he was concerned by the spread of prices with some producers struggling with prices in the low 30s. He said: “It is still a very expensive time to be producing milk and, if you are in that bottom quartile of prices, it is a very tough place to be. “There is also concern that while farmgate prices plunged in 2023 they are not recovering as fast as the global market has recovered recently.” FOR MORE ON MILK PRICES, SEE PAGES 14-15.
PICTURE: MACIEJ JAROSZEWSKI
By Cedric Porter
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06/03/2024 16:51