The latest March figures for Kingshay herds indicates that pressure on margins are easing as many processors are starting to hold their milk prices and some have even seen a small increase. The milk price for March 2026 averaged 35.34ppl, a 23% decrease compared with March 2025.
Concentrate prices averaged £296/tonne for March 2026, 4% lower than the same month last year and the lowest feed prices have been for four years.
The average margin over purchased feed for the month was £200 per cow, a sharp decrease of 26% compared to the same month last year.
Milk from forage averaged 9.4 litres/cow/day, a huge 19% increase compared with March 2025. March 2026 milk yields have also risen by 5% to 29.1 litres/cow/day compared with the same month last year, further boosting output and contributing to the ongoing oversupply in the milk market.
Rolling trends for the year ending March 2026 include -
- Concentrate use per cow was up 3.1% compared to last year at 3031kg/cow.
- Margin over purchased feed per litre was down 1.8% on last year to 31.03ppl.
- Bulk cell counts decreased to 151 (‘000).
- Yields averaged 8,947 litres per cow, increasing by 4.8% compared to the 12 months ending March 2025.
- Milk from forage was up 7.9% compared to the preceding 12 months to 2,633 litres per cow, providing 29% of total yield.
- Purchased feed costs were 11.26ppl, a decrease of 3.5% compared to last year, with concentrate prices of £300/tonne compared to £310/tonne in the previous year.
- Milk price was similar at 42.28ppl compared to 43.28ppl in same month last year.
Click here for the full results.
More in-depth analysis of herds using Kingshay’s costings service can be found in Kingshay’s Dairy Costings Focus Report or call 01458 851555 for more details.
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If you are interested in analysing and comparing your herd’s figures with other similar herds, give us a call on 01458 851555. More details of this simple and easy-to-use service can be found here.