UK dairy market review in May 2024

GB milk deliveries are estimated to have totalled 1,127 million litres in May 2024 with an average of 36.4 million litres per day. This would mean a decline of 1.2% year on year. This also means that dairy production for May was the lowest milk volume since 2016. Daily milk deliveries look to have peaked on 11 May at 36.92m litres per day meaning that we saw a subdued flush this year. Prolonged wet conditions from autumn through to Spring not only held back cow turnout but have also delayed grass growth. Looking at peak growth, although this was down year on year, it was higher than the 5-year average, likely due to a break in the weather causing grass growth to shoot up in the early part of the month. See the latest grass growth data visualized on the Forage for Knowledge webpage. Although silage season is now well underway, the slower start may well put pressure on forage supplies later in the year. Paired alongside this, hay and straw prices are currently sitting at a record ...