February 2018 Newsletter
Milk Price, T.B. Reactors /Inconclusives, New Milk Statement, Annual Statements Online, TBC Testing & Penalties, Johne’s Programme, Carbery Survey 2018, Shares, Trees
Milk Price
The milk price for the month of January is unchanged at 37.73 cpl (171.53 cents per gallon) at 3.60% butterfat and 3.30% protein, including Winter Somatic Cell Count (SCC) bonus of 0.88 cpl and VAT at 5.4%.
T.B. Reactors /Inconclusives
Milk suppliers are reminded that milk from reactor and inconclusive cows should not be offered for sale. When a reactor or inconclusive cow is disclosed on a farm, the Co-Op is informed by the Department. These animals should be isolated, and their milk discarded.
The Co-Op must keep records to demonstrate the measures taken to ensure that milk from reactor or inconclusive cows is not collected. The Department may inspect a supplier’s collection records for compliance with this directive.
New Milk Statement
There have been changes to the layout of your milk statement. The information on the front page of the new statement is the same as the old statement, just laid out in a different way.
There are some changes to page 2. Two extra boxes are included where each supplier can compare themselves to the co-op average and the top 10% of suppliers for both their monthly milk supply and their milk supply year to date. The price per gallon is also no longer on the statement.
Annual Statements Online
The 2017 annual statement is now available on the Drinagh website. Website users can view and print their annual statement in the retail login under the sub heading ‘statement’.
TBC Testing & Penalties
As previously advised there has been a change to the way TBC testing and penalties are applied from January 1st 2018.
In the event of a TBC failure, the fine will no longer be across the months milk supply, instead the penalty will be applied to the volume collected on that day only.
Please see TBC bands and the penalty per litre outlined in the table below.
| TBC band (‘000) | Penalty (Cent per Litre) for milk collected on the day |
|---|---|
| 0-50 | Base Price |
| 50-75 | 4 |
| 75-100 | 6 |
| 100-200 | 8 |
| 200 -300 | 10 |
| > 300 | 12 |
In the event of a failure a supplier will be retested for the following collections until the standard is met. Each day TBC is high the fine will be applied to the volume collected on that day. For more info please see the Drinagh Milk Quality Standard.
Johne’s Programme
Any supplier that did not participate in the pilot programme and wishes to register for the Johne’s Control Programme in 2018 should complete an expression of interest form. Once completed, this form should be returned to Animal Health Ireland (AHI). AHI will then post you out an information and registration pack when registration opens in 2018. Expression of interest forms are available from Tim Regan/Darren Lynch or online.
Carbery Survey 2018
The Carbery Survey to establish the increase in milk supply in West Cork up to 2025 is included in this month’s accounts. The Survey can also be completed online.
Carbery require this information to ensure the increase in processing capacity planned for the future matches the increase in milk supply in West Cork. Completed forms should be returned to the Central Office and closing date for return of completed surveys is Friday the 2nd of March. The closing date on the survey in the accounts can be disregarded.
Carbery Shares
The Carbery Milk Supply Share scheme requires each supplier to have a minimum shareholding aligned to their milk supply. All suppliers received information about their Carbery shares in recent weeks. For any supplier that did not increase their 2017 milk supply on 2016 level no further action is required.
Options
Processing notes that were introduced last year. Each supplier has the choice to purchase Carbery shares or processing notes to match their milk supply. Similar to shares, 25 processing notes are required per 1000 litres of new milk supplied in 2017. Processing notes are valued at €1 and this price is fixed for a further 2 years. This is different to the share price that can increase or decrease in value each year.
- Option A Allocate any surplus shares to cover new milk supplied in 2017
- Option B Purchase shares to cover any new milk supplied in 2017 (current share price is €3.51)
- Option C Purchase processing notes to cover any new milk supplied in 2017
Suppliers may use any mix of option A, B and C in order to meet their share requirements.
The current trading window closes on March 2nd 2018. Suppliers with any queries should contact the Share Scheme Co-Ordinator on (023) 8822318 or Seamus Daly / Tim Regan / Darren Lynch on (028) 30800.
Carbery Trees
Carbery are nearing the final stages of plans for the allocation and distribution of trees to each milk supplier. When the scheme is finalised, each supplier will be notified by text that their trees are available for them at their local branch.
Suppliers are encouraged to collect their trees promptly after receiving the text as they will be handed over to local communities if unclaimed after 2 weeks.