Milk Production and Prices January 13, 2014 12:00 am The latest DEFRA publication shows the average farm gate milk price for November was 34.5ppl, an increase of 15% on the previous November and a record high for UK producers, this increase however is not driven by a lack of production. The latest production figures for December show UK milk output is once again over 10% more than year earlier levels. At 1,150.7 million litres it is the highest production in November since the mid-1990’s. Cumulative production stands at 10,151.1 million litres – this is 3.3% higher than the same time last year, and 1.9% up on the five-year avearage. Butterfat levels have fallen from the 4.18% in November to 4.11% for December. Cumulative butterfat levels now stand at 4.00% compared with 4.06% at the same time in 2012. At the moment, this extra production is finding ready buyers. Arla Foods Amba is looking to secure an additional 300 million litres of milk in 2014. The company currently processes around 3.2 billion litres. The Chairman, Jonathan Ovens, has suggested the aim is to increase the processing capacity to 4.5 billion as soon as possible.
