April 2020 Dairy Newsletter

Milk Price

The milk price for March is unchanged at 33.07 cents per litre (150.34 cents per gallon) at 3.60% butterfat and 3.30% protein, including Summer Somatic Cell Count (SCC) bonus of 0.5 cpl and VAT at 5.4%.

Carbery reduced the base price paid by 1.5 cents per litre but offset the reduction by 1.5 cents per litre support from the stability fund. It is anticipated that the price for April supply will be reduced by 1.0 cent per litre and that this price should then prevail until mid-Summer.

The average price paid for the month is 35.10 cents per litre. This is based on the average butterfat of 4.19% and protein of 3.23%, including SCC bonus and VAT.

2019 Drinagh Trading Bonus:

At a recent board meeting, the bonuses for 2019 were approved.

The Drinagh board agreed to pay 0.5 cents per litre on milk supplied in 2019 where purchases from the Society were greater than 7.0 cents per litre and 0.25 cents per litre where purchases were less than 7.0 cents per litre and greater than 5.0 cents per litre. No bonus is paid where purchases are less than 5.0 cents per litre.

A bonus of €10.00 per tonne of fertilizer and €15.00 per tonne of compounded ruminant feed purchased in 2019. In addition further bonuses of €10.00* on mixes, €5.00 on pig feeds and €2.50** on straights were approved.

Drinagh Brochures

The Drinagh Weed Control Guide () and the Drinagh Grass Seed brochure for 2020 () are included in this month’s statement.

The grass seed brochure gives the varieties that make up the Drinagh grass seed mixes for 2020. When considering soil type and future use of the reseed it is essential to select the right mix to get the best results for your farm. This information will help you to select the Drinagh grass seed mixture that best suits your needs.

The weed control guide gives information on what weeds each product will target, application rates, water rates and stock withhold periods. For further information on specific weed issues contact Tim/ Darren

Milk Supply

Milk supply for the first 3 months of 2020 is up 6.75% on the same period last year. Stronger supplies in February account for a significant amount of the overall increase.

Milk Quality

Occasionally milk suppliers forget to turn on their milk tank for the first milking after milk collection. This is usually discovered the morning after the milk collection.

What are your options?

1. Discard the uncooled milk, wash the tank and turn on the tank for the next milking, or
2. Turn on the tank and cool the milk before you commence milking. Only when the milk is fully cooled, should you start milking. Take a sample of the cooled milk to Carbery and test for TBC.

This option is usually only successful when the first milking has been efficiently plate cooled. Often the result is very high and both milkings must be discarded.

Drinagh Bonus Breakdown

This month the Society announced the trading bonuses for 2019. These bonuses are to reward our loyal customers for supporting the Society with their business.

To fully appreciate the value of the bonuses we will estimate what it’s worth to the average Drinagh supplier that is milking 75 cows and purchasing all their feed and fertilizer from the Society.

Milk Bonus:
75 cows suppling 375,000L (5,000 litres per cow) @ 0.5 cpl = €1,875

Feed Bonus:
75 tonne of compound feed (1 tonne per cow) @ €15 per tonne bonus = €1,125

Fertilizer Bonus:
35 tonne of fertiliser @ €10 per tonne bonus = €350

This equates to approx. €45 per cow.

Total combined bonus for a supplier purchasing all their feed and fertiliser from the Society and qualifying for the full Milk bonus is €3,350.

We thank all our loyal customers for their support and business.

Bord Bia Renewal Audits

In response to the threat of Covid-19, Bord Bia have postponed all audits. Milk suppliers who are affected by a postponement have had their certificates extended for an initial period of 60 days.

Bord Bia are currently putting contingency plans in place in the event that normal auditing cannot resume beyond the postponement period. Temporary measures could include farmers providing video or photographic evidence and information to auditors over the phone.

This system is currently in development phase and will only be used where no further scope exists to extend current certification and to facilitate ongoing membership of the QA schemes.

REMINDERS

• Trading bonuses announced
• Grass Seed and Weed Control brochures included in this month’s statement