The latest milk quality statistics published by DAERA show that butterfat fell significantly between April and May 2024, dropping by 0.17 percentage points, over double what was seen in the previous year.

The May 2024 butterfat average was 4.10%, compared to 4.27% in April. In the first four months of the year, butterfat averaged around the 4.26% mark, which is well ahead of the 4.18% seen in the first four months of 2023.

Milk protein percentages are much more consistent over the first five months of 2024. While the May figure of 3.26% is the lowest for the year-to-date, it is only down slightly on the peak of 3.29% seen in both January and March 2024. When compared to the same period in 2023, there has been little change in milk protein percentages. In the Republic of Ireland, the average butterfat in May is behind that seen in NI, coming in at 4.05%, down from 4.27% in the previous month. Protein averaged 3.38% in May, which is 0.1% ahead of the NI equivalent, although the April average of 3.27% was actually behind that seen in NI. A late turnout due to the poor spring has resulted in protein percentages being consistently down across the first five months of 2024.

Across all of 2023, ROI milk intake averaged 4.30% butterfat and 3.52% protein, compared to equivalent figures of 4.19% and 3.32% in NI.

But while NI dairy farmers are producing lower solids milk, they are producing much higher solids per cow. Dividing total milk produced by average cow numbers in June 2023, suggests average output per cow in NI of 7,915l, versus 5,137l in ROI. That works out at 594.4kg of milk solids per cow in NI and 401.7kg in ROI.