UK dairy market review in the third quarter of 2024

GB milk deliveries through the milk year to date have contracted in supply terms as a result of the poor weather seen from Autumn last year through to Spring this year. In the milk year to date GB supplies have been back by 0.9%. July was back by 0.4% and August by 0.5%. This was due to disappointing grass growth and quality going into summer and lack of farmer confidence given continued high input costs and costs of borrowing. Off the back of this trend the AHDB forecast revision in September expected the 2024/25 season to end at 0.3% down year-on-year. However, the tide turned a little in September, with better weather and continued price increases GB milk deliveries for September were up by 0.9% compared to the same period in 2023. This is despite some reduction in cow numbers. The milking herd has eased a little, standing at 1.61 million head, as of 1 July 2024. This is down by 0.3% on the previous year, driven by decreases across all age categories (apart from 2-4 years ...