Milk prices

From an impartiality row following the promotion of Brian May's badger documentary to catching up with farmers about their harvest time so far - these are six farming stories not to miss this week on FG

I don't quite know where to start this month; the weather, milk prices, milk contract legislation or the new Government

The price for conventional and organic milk will rise for organic suppliers from July 1

The dairy will pay 39ppl for July, including the Muller Advantage premium

With dairies announcing unusual milk price rises for May, Cedric Porter takes a look at the milk markets

After weakening through March, commodity prices are showing some tentative signs of improvement with butter jumping from the €5,500 (£4,719) zone to as high as €5,950 (£5,106) for some trades

Farmers and growers are getting increasingly frustrated and concerned over the wet spring, which is on track to be one of the wettest in living memory, and if the situation does not change for the better soon, the inflationary repercussions will surely be felt later this year

Major dairies have increased milk prices in March and April

Arla holding their milk price for February following their 3€c/kg increase for January, together with Müller deciding to leave their Müller Direct price unchanged for March, posting the fifth consecutive month of price stability, has the effect of locking in virtually all other milk buyers for liquid processing as a hold for March

The organic dairy co-operative said the price increase for March had reflected a ‘sustained upturn’ in demand for organic milk