Farmer-owned co-operative Organic Herd has announced that its milk price for April will see an increase of 1.68 pence per litre.
This means the dairy co-op's milk price, in effect from 1 April 2025, will be 57.68 pence per litre, following the three percent rise.
Organic Herd stressed that the latest price increase was not a short term market-related move.
Instead, the rise "reflects the need to address a range of long term, embedded, cost increases that are confronting all dairy farmers".
These included the growing financial pressures relating to the employment of labour, such as the uplift in National Insurance and Living Wage from April.
Martyn Anthony, Organic Herd’s chief executive, said these costs were set to have a significant impact on farms’ long term profitability and viability.
"It is important that we provide our members with the necessary confidence and financial wherewithal to continue dairy farming," he explained.
"I’m pleased to say that our customers have recognised this, with our April price rise being made possible by the support of our customer partners who value and require long term security of supply to fulfil their increasing demand.”
Sara Ogborne, Organic Herd’s director of membership, added that farm businesses were being impacted by inflationary cost increases.
"It's our responsibility to ensure these costs are accounted for, and to work with our customers to ensure producers have the ability to fulfil the longstanding growth in demand seen across the board.
"Farmers cannot be expected to keep absorbing increasing costs that inevitably come down their driveway, nor their own increasing operating costs.”
