Tirlán sets a milk-price floor for late 2026
Tirlán said its August price would total 39.08c per litre, including VAT, a temporary 1c per litre weather-support payment and a 0.5c per litre Sustainability Action Payment. Based on the milk constituents delivered by suppliers, the average price for the month will be 46.5c per litre including VAT.
The farmer-owned co-operative will apply a price floor of 40.08c per litre to milk supplied in September, October, November and December. The figure includes VAT and the 0.5c per litre Sustainability Action Payment. Tirlán said the commitment would apply barring “any unforeseen events”.
Ger O’Brien, Tirlán’s chairperson, said the co-operative understood the importance of certainty to farm families planning cash flow, feed purchases and investment. He said the board was pleased to commit to the four-month floor, while noting that protein markets remained strong and that rising milk output in key exporting regions continued to affect overall dairy-market returns.
“Market demand and pricing remain relatively stable,” Mr O’Brien said. He added that Tirlán’s teams were continuing to seek the highest available returns from the market and that any improvement in market conditions would ultimately be passed back to farmers.
The new floor comes alongside a five-year payment framework recently agreed for participants in the Liquid Milk and Autumn Calving Schemes. The framework will take effect on October 1. It raises the January seasonality payment from 7c per litre to 9c, while the payments for December and February remain at 5c per litre. Suppliers can receive the seasonality payments if they meet milk-quality requirements.
The framework also provides a 13c per litre premium for contracted liquid-milk supplies and a 12c per litre premium for contracted supplies under the Autumn Calving Scheme.
Dairygold confirmed its August price on Thursday, September 17, raising its offer by 0.5c per litre to 39c. Its figure is based on standard constituents of 3.3% protein and 3.6% butterfat, and includes sustainability, quality and VAT payments. Dairygold said this equated to an average farm-gate price of 46.7c per litre, calculated using the average milk solids achieved by its suppliers. Its chairperson, Pat Clancy, said dairy-market sentiment had improved in recent weeks, supported mainly by protein and cheese returns and slower growth in European milk supply. The board would continue to monitor markets and review the milk price each month.
