First Milk is to reduce its milk price to farmer by 4 ppl from March 1, taking its price to 45.69 ppl for a manufacturing standard litre, including the member premium and regenerative farming bonus.

The move comes as the industry faces a drop in global dairy prices.

Robert Craig, farmer director and vice-chairman, said: “The sentiment in global dairy markets has been weakening for some time. This has accelerated significantly since the beginning of January, and we are now seeing week-on-week reductions in dairy market prices. We are also seeing probably the biggest disjoint ever between market prices and current farmgate milk prices.

“We have been pleased to hold milk price up until this point, providing some stability through the winter period, but we are not immune to market forces and, whilst disappointing, we must adjust our milk price to reflect market movements.

“We recognise that this will be unwelcome news and we will continue to do all we can to reduce the speed and impact of the falling market for our members.”

First Milk is a farmer-owned co-operative with a creamery in Pembrokeshire. It produces a range of award-winning cheeses as well as bulk cream and whey proteins.

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