Organic Herd, one of the leading British farmer-owned co-operatives, has announced a 0.5ppl increase in its Member milk price effective from March 1, 2024, taking its price up to 49.5ppl on a standard litre basis.

The co-operative, which boasts a membership of around 120 of which 10% is based in Scotland, delivered a milk price of 49ppl to its producers for the last 17 months.

The March increase reflects a sustained upturn in demand for its organic milk and dairy products, particularly in relation to its organic cheese exports to the United States. The latter is underpinned by a new listing to supply 400 Sprouts Farmers Market stores across the US with Organic Herd’s British Organic Dairy Co. branded cheddars.

The new listing comes at a time when the Organic Herd team has just returned from showcasing its range of great tasting organic cheese to the thousands of food trade visitors that attended the SFA Winter Fancy Food Show held in Las Vegas (January 21-23, 2024).

READ MORE | First Milk raises milk price by 1p/litre for February 2024

Martyn Anthony, Organic Herd’s chief executive said: “The increase in our milk price reflects our ongoing commitment to deliver not only a competitive milk price but also one that is sustainable for the foreseeable future. In so achieving small, incremental, and sustained improvements, we hope to enable our members to expand production to help meet the growing demand for our organic milk and dairy products from both our core domestic and international export markets.

“Looking forward, we are cautiously optimistic that the green shoots of recovery we are witnessing in the organic dairy sector will continue and that we may be able to deliver a further uplift in our members’ milk price as we move through the spring and early summer.”