Glanbia Cheese adds additional quality and volume bonuses to milk payment policy

Farmers were informed of the changes at a recent Glanbia Cheese supplier meeting held in Magheralin on April 25th 2018. A letter has also been issued to all of the company’s milk suppliers.

Glanbia Cheese, which is the UK’s number one cheese manufacturer, operates plants in Magheralin, Co Down, and Llangefni, Wales.

The key changes to the Glanbia Cheese Milk Supply Agreement (MSA) are:

* A new Quality Bonus of 0.20ppl will be available, based on Red Tractor certification, Butterfat greater than 4.00%, protein greater than 3.2%, TBC less than 25,000 and SCC below 200,000;

* With effect from April 1st, a new Volume Bonus of 0.15ppl will apply in the 650,000 to 1 million litre per annum band, while an increased Volume Bonus of 0.65ppl will apply for over 1 million litres delivered per annum;

* Glanbia Cheese plans will make a payment of 0.25ppl on production volumes for the period April 2017 to March 2018 once a farm compliance visit is successfully completed and an updated MSA signed.

The company, which is Europe’s leading mozzarella cheese manufacturer, has confirmed that Red Tractor Certification is now an essential customer requirement in order to maximise returns.

As a result, non-Red Tractor accredited milk will incur a penalty of 3.00ppl with effect from 1 September 2018.

Commenting on the changes to the MSA, Chief Executive Paul Vernon said: “These incremental payments are designed to improve milk quality, increase volumes and enhance returns to suppliers.”