This is an increase of 2.2% (+22.5 million litres) from volumes recorded in 2021, but 0.3% (2.6 million litres) below the 5-year average of December production.

Cold weather in the first part of the month caused a drop in deliveries, particularly in the second week. The ice and snow likely impacted the ability of tankers to arrive on farm, causing a relatively large dip in deliveries over the weekend of 16-18 Dec, although delivery volumes quickly picked up again. Average daily deliveries for the month eased slightly compared to November, down 1.4% (0.5 million litres) to 33.31 million litres per day, contrary to typical seasonal movements. This is the first time since the 2017/2018 season that we have seen December deliveries decline in relation to November.

With forage stocks still reported to be tight in some areas of the country, and cuts in milk prices announced for January and February, it will be interesting to see how production develops as we approach the spring flush.