Irish milk production loses momentum in April

Irish milk production lost momentum in April, declining by 3.5% over the previous year and bringing year-to-date output slightly below last year's level. Despite weaker milk volumes, higher fat content supported milk solids production, which remained above 2025 levels through April. Meanwhile, weakening raw milk prices have reduced incentives for farmers to expand production, although cooperative milk prices continued to edge higher. Looking ahead, elevated temperatures and increasing heat stress risks are expected to place additional pressure on milk output during the summer months.Irish milk production reached 1.07 million tons in April, marking a 3.5% decline compared to the previous year. Production also experienced a notable deceleration compared to the 0.6% growth observed in March. As a result, Ireland's milk output moderated close to the seasonal production peak, offsetting some of the growth recorded earlier in the year. As of April, year-to-date production contracted by 0.2% year-on-year to 2.45 million tons.Despite the limited milk volumes, fat and protein contents remained positive throughout the year between January and March and were stable month-on-month in April. Compared to the previous year, fat content increased by 9.8% to 4.48% in April, more than offsetting a 2.6% decline in protein content to 3.38%. As a result, milk solids output increased by 2.6% year-on-year to 194,199 tons as of April.Irish cooperatives reported an average milk price of 37.24 cents per liter in April, up 0.7% from the previous month, according to Agriland. The increase was primarily driven by higher prices reported by Strathroy (+2.78%), Lakeland (+2.10%), Aurivo (+1.97%), and Arra Tipp (+1.73%), while no cooperative reported a decline in prices.That said, Eurostat reported broader weakness in raw milk prices in the following month, with prices averaging €39.72 per 100 kilograms in May. This represented a 22.2% decline compared to the previous year and was unchanged from April, although the year-on-year price gap narrowed slightly from the 23.6% contraction recorded that month. The weakness in milk prices has reduced incentives for farmers to expand production. At the same time, weather conditions increasingly challenged production. Although rainfall patterns remained broadly normal, temperatures proved more problematic, surpassing 30°C in certain locations and generating heat stress in livestock. Such conditions are expected to continue affecting production in June, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with temperature anomalies potentially pushing temperatures up to 31°C. Heat stress can reduce milk production by between 10% and 30%, driven by lower feed intake, increased energy expenditure for cooling, and metabolic changes.