Milk price certainty confirmed for Kilkenny farmers by co-op
Tirlán has announced a milk price floor of 40.08 cent per litre (cpl), including VAT and the 0.5 cpl Sustainability Action Payment, for milk supplied during the months of September, October, November and December, barring unforeseen events.
This compares with an August milk price of 39.08 cpl, which included a temporary 1 cpl weather-support payment and the 0.5 cpl Sustainability Action Payment
The actual average price paid by Tirlán for August creamery milk, based on delivered constituents, will be 46.50 cpl (including VAT).
In recent months Tirlán has provided significant support to milk suppliers through weather-related milk payments, feed rebates and technical advisory services as farmers managed prolonged drought conditions across much of the Co-op catchment area. In the coming weeks, more than €4 million will be distributed to milk suppliers through feed rebates.
“As a farmer-owned Co-operative, we understand the value of certainty in helping farm families plan cashflow, feed purchases and investment decisions,” Tirlán chairperson Ger O'Brien said.
In addition, he pointed out that liquid milk premiums, Seasonality Bonuses and Autumn Calving Scheme payments on top of the 40.08 cpl “floor” price would reward those who incur the additional costs associated with supplying milk during the winter months.
Mr O'Brien said that while protein markets remain strong, milk supply growth across key export regions continues to weigh on overall dairy market returns.
“Market demand and pricing remain relatively stable. Milk suppliers can be assured that our teams continue to focus on maximising returns from the marketplace and any improvements in market conditions will ultimately be returned to our farmers."
New Liquid Milk, Autumn Calving and Seasonality payment rates
The Tirlán Board has recently approved a new five-year payment framework for participants in the Liquid Milk and Autumn Calving Schemes (ACS), effective from 1 October 2026. A key improvement is an increase in the January seasonality payment from 7cpl to 9cpl, while the unconditional seasonality payments for December and February will remain at 5cpl. The Seasonality payments are available to all milk suppliers, provided criteria are met.