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Analysis

Two routes start with a number. The third starts with an argument.

How the two published route values are built, and what a protein project has to establish before it can be compared with either

Steve Moncrieff10 September 20266 min read

Independent analysis by The Dairy Mail. Not sponsored; the interpretation is our own.

Infinity symbol formed from whey protein powder, its edges breaking into dust against a pale background

More from Milk, Pillar One. The Thursday explainer, following Tuesday's hero investigation, What is a litre worth once it leaves the farm, and who decides?

A litre of milk used for butter and skimmed milk powder carried an estimated factory gate value of 35.62 pence in August 2026. Put the same litre through a mild Cheddar and whey route and the value was 35.48. AHDB publishes both calculations monthly, on declared assumptions about milk composition, yields, processing costs and co-product income. It also publishes the components, so butter's 16.20 pence and skimmed milk powder's 18.46 can be argued with line by line.

No transparent, separately published UK or Irish route series was found for milk processed into higher-value protein ingredients. Finance teams can still value those products, but they must build the comparison themselves.

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Published by The Dairy Mail, Dairy Connect: https://www.dairy-connect.com/the-dairy-mail/two-routes-start-with-a-number/

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