Milk production falls short again in September

Milk production fell 16m litres short of quota profile in September, following a month of poor weather in many parts and poor grass.

Dairy consultants blamed poor weather and poor grass for last month’s shortfall in milk production, which fell 16m litres (butterfat-adjusted) below the

The cumulative deficit widened to 239m litres, according to the Charles Holt/Farmers Weekly profile.

Charles Holt of the Farm Consultancy Group said the chances of hitting quota this year were now negligible

It strengthens the case for the RPA’s recent decision to postpone the release of weekly milk production figures until January.

A spokesman for the Agency said weekly notices would only begin sooner if statistics indicated a sudden rise in dairy production.

Quota broker Ian Potter was critical. “It’s an indication that they think quota is a target and that’s giving the wrong signals to farmers.”

Meanwhile, milk quota prices have fallen back again, according to Jonathan Smith, head of BK quota services.

He said clean quota was selling at around 5.5p/litre and used at 5p/litre, with leased quota at around 0.6p/litre.