Ireland Cattle Price
Real prices, reported by farmers
Real prices, reported by farmers
Every month the co-ops announce a milk price, and every co-op announces it a different way. One quotes with VAT, one without. One buries the bonuses in the headline number, another strips them out. One quotes at Irish standard constituents, another leads with the EU standard figure that reads four cent higher for the same litre. The result: a farmer can't put two headline numbers side by side and know who actually pays more. That suits everyone except the farmer. This page puts them on one table, like with like, and marks the gaps plainly.
All figures are the co-op's quoted price at Irish standard constituents (3.3% protein, 3.6% butterfat), including VAT, cent per litre. "Bonuses in" means quality/sustainability payments are inside the headline figure. May is kept alongside so you can see the move.
| Co-op | June 2026 | May 2026 | Move | Bonuses in? | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tirlán | 38.08 c/L | 37.58 c/L | +0.50 | Yes | Base 37.58c + 0.5c Sustainability Action Payment. This is the floor Tirlán set on 18 June for June, July and August supplies — it has held to it. Actual average paid on delivered constituents: 42.67c/L incl VAT. |
| Dairygold | 38.00 c/L | 37.50 c/L | +0.50 | Yes | Board increased the June price by 0.5c. Includes sustainability and quality payments. Average farm-gate return on Dairygold solids: 42.4c/L. |
| Kinisla (was Kerry Dairy Ireland) | 38.00 c/L | 38.00 c/L | Held | Yes | Includes quality and sustainability bonuses. Average solids return for June: 41.01c/L incl VAT. |
| Lakeland Dairies | 37.50 c/L | 37.50 c/L | Held | Yes | Includes 0.5c Sustainability Incentive Payment. Separately paying a 0.6c/L market support payment on all milk supplied January–June, adjusted for constituents. |
| Carbery (Bandon, Barryroe, Drinagh, Lisavaird) | Awaiting verified figure | 40.80 c/L | — | — | Carbery had not announced its June price as of 20 July. Its May price of 40.80c (incl 0.5c SCC bonus, FutureProof bonus and stability fund support) was the highest on this table. June figure goes in once announced. |
| Aurivo | Awaiting verified figure | Awaiting verified figure | — | — | No June announcement on the public record as of 20 July, and no May figure published on a comparable basis. Raised its base price 0.75c/L for April supplies. |
| ArraTipp (was Arrabawn + Tipperary Co-op) | Awaiting verified figure | Awaiting verified figure | — | — | No June announcement on the public record as of 20 July, and no May figure published on a comparable basis. Raised its base price 0.62c/L for April supplies. |
| North Cork Creameries | Awaiting verified figure | Awaiting verified figure | — | — | No June announcement on the public record as of 20 July, and no May figure published on a comparable basis. Raised its base price 3.5c/L for March supplies, the biggest move that month. |
Of the four that have announced, two moved up half a cent and two held. Tirlán is top of the announced group at 38.08c — but only because it committed in June to a floor for the summer and stuck to it, not because the market moved. Carbery, which paid 40.80c for May and would likely still lead this table, had not announced when we last checked.
This is the part that causes most of the arguments in the yard, so it is worth setting out plainly. There is no single milk league. There are at least three, they measure different things, and a co-op can lead one while trailing another in the same week.
| Table | What it measures | Who leads |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly quoted price June 2026 supplies | The base price announced for a single month, cent per litre at a stated standard | Of those that have announced, Tirlán 38.08c, a hair ahead of Dairygold on 38.00c. Carbery had not announced. |
| Cumulative league May supplies, published 1 July | Year-to-date money on a standard supply — the running total, not one month | The four west Cork co-ops that supply the Carbery group, in division one on their own. Behind them Dairygold and Tirlán are neck and neck, Dairygold ahead by €33 year-to-date after Tirlán applied a retrospective increase in the May cheque. |
| Northern Ireland league | A separate table entirely, different processors and different basis | Tirlán tops it. This is not the Republic table and the two should never be quoted as one. |
So all of the following are true at once: west Cork is top, Dairygold is ahead of Tirlán, Tirlán is ahead of Dairygold, and Tirlán is top. It depends entirely on whether you are being shown one month's quote, the year to date, or the wrong jurisdiction. A €33 gap year-to-date and a 0.08c gap in a single month are both real and neither is a league win.
1. Constituents. Milk is paid on solids — protein and butterfat — not on water. The Irish standard quote assumes 3.3% protein and 3.6% butterfat. The EU standard assumes 3.4% and 4.2%. Same litre of milk, but the EU-standard number reads roughly 4c/L higher. Dairygold's May quote was 37.5c at Irish standard and 41.2c at EU standard — identical money. If one co-op leads with the EU figure and another leads with the Irish figure, the comparison is fiction until you put them on the same basis.
2. VAT. Most co-op announcements include flat-rate VAT; the Agriland/ICMSA tracker strips it out. A VAT-inclusive number always beats a VAT-exclusive one on paper. Check before comparing.
3. Bonuses. Somatic cell count bonuses, sustainability payments, stability funds, retrospective top-ups — some co-ops fold them into the headline, some list them separately, and not every farmer qualifies for every one. A headline that includes a conditional bonus you don't get is not your price.
4. Your solids. The quoted price is for standard milk. Your actual cheque reflects your herd's protein and fat. That's why Tirlán's quoted 38.08c for June became an actual average of 42.67c paid on delivered constituents, and Dairygold's quoted 38.00c became an average farm-gate 42.4c — solids ran well above standard in peak season. Two farmers supplying the same co-op can be 4c/L apart on the same month, legitimately.
None of this is illegal and none of it is new. But it means the only honest comparison is base price, same constituents, same VAT treatment, bonuses declared — which is what this page does, and what we'll keep doing every month. The same rule we apply to beef quotes applies here: when farmers can see the whole board, the game changes.
June 2026 supplies
Irish Examiner — Processors confirm June milk prices (17 July 2026): Lakeland, Kinisla, Tirlán and Dairygold June figures, constituents and bonus detail.
Agriland — Kinisla confirms milk price for June supplies (20 July 2026).
Agriland — Lakeland announces June milk price and 'market support' payment (17 July 2026).
Agriland — Dairygold increases milk price for June supplies (July 2026).
Agriland — Tirlán confirms June milk price in line with 3-month commitment (July 2026).
Irish Farmers Journal — Tirlán holds June milk price as part of three-month set rate (17 July 2026).
May 2026 supplies (retained for comparison)
Irish Examiner — Milk prices for May confirmed by Co-ops (22 June 2026): Dairygold, Kinisla, Carbery, Tirlán figures and constituents.
Agriland — Carbery holds milk price for May supplies (June 2026).
Irish Farmers Journal — Tirlán sets milk price for three months and pays top-up (18 June 2026).
Agriland/ICMSA Milk Price Tracker — April supplies (3 June 2026): tracker method, April movements, bonus schedules.
Milk Price Watch is compiled by IrelandCattlePrice.com from co-op announcements and published trade reports. Prices are for general guidance — always confirm with your co-op. Spot an error or have a verified figure we're missing? Tell us — that's how the gaps close.