Dairy Crest formula milk price falls as cream and costs ease

Dairy Crest’s cost-tracking formula has dropped just 0.053p/litre as prices for both inputs and dairy commodities continued to slip.

Farmers with milk committed to the formula will be paid 31.992p/litre from September, including the 0.19p/litre April sign-up premium.

The formula will command a 1.522p/litre premium over Dairy Crest’s standard liquid price.

In July, the processor dropped both its manufacturing and liquid contracts by 1.1p/litre, blaming the poor market returns for dairy commodities.

Cream prices in July came back £20/t to £1,380/t and the price of four pints of supermarket milk stayed the same.

Concentrate prices dropped slightly to £261/t and fertiliser remained level, while the cost of red diesel increased by 0.64p/litre.

“Buoyant cream markets during the first two weeks of July were offset by much weaker values during the second half of the month, this as EU and UK milk production remained ‘plentiful’,” said Michael Masters, secretary of farmers’ group Dairy Crest Direct.

The next chance for Dairy Crest suppliers to sign up some or more of their milk to either of the two formula contracts will be from 22 September.