Data users: 1. Users of the milk prices data include the EU Commission where the milk price statistics are required monthly under Regulation no. 479/2010 Article 2 (3)(a). Detailed information on this legislation and successive amendments are available at: European Commission legislation. European level statistics on the milk industry are available at: European Commission statistics. 2. The milk price statistics accompany another Defra monthly publication on milk utilisation by dairies (this is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/milk-utilisation-by-dairies and provides more detailed statistics on the volumes of raw milk which are processed into other products e.g. liquid milk, butter, cheese etc.). This data, alongside the milk prices, gives a comprehensive overview of the UK milk market and is used heavily by the dairy industry, in particular the division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) known as DairyCo (who represent milk producers) and Dairy UK (who represent milk processors). DairyCo consider the price and utilisation statistics vital for assessing market trends and to carry out further analysis on how changing prices affect the sector. Milk utilisation data provides insight into market characteristics and to monitor where milk is being used for domestic production. It provides insight to how production of products (such as butter, cheese etc.) changes in response to changes in global demand and market conditions. 3. The information in this notice is also used by the UK government as evidence for assessing market conditions and evaluating agricultural policy. Other users include academia and the general public. 4. Contact details are available on the front page of this notice, for you to send feedback or ask questions about the information provided. Methodology: 5. Farm gate milk prices: Defra runs a compulsory monthly survey of dairies in England and Wales to collect information on the volume, value, protein and butterfat content of milk purchased from farms in England and Wales. All major dairies purchasing over 2 million litres of milk a year (32 in England and Wales) take part in the survey. 6. Similar surveys are run by the Rural & Environment Science and Analytical Service (RESAS) for Scotland and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) for Northern Ireland. Scottish milk price and production statistics are available in the Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Agriculture-Fisheries/PubEconomicReport (Section 5.25). This website also contains contact details and more information. Northern Ireland results are available at http://www.dardni.gov.uk/index/statistics/agricultural-and-market-prices/statistics-milk-price-and-production-statistics.htm. 7. UK average prices are calculated using the weighted results from the Defra, RESAS and DARD NI surveys. 8. Based on long term comparisons with information from the Rural Payments Agency on the volume of milk delivered to dairies (information collected under milk quota regulations), we calculate the milk prices surveys cover approximately 90 per cent of milk purchased from farms in the UK. In the short term, the total volume of milk recorded by the surveys is raised using this methodology. 9. The published farm gate prices are weighted according to the volume of milk purchased by dairies. The averages are strongly influenced by the larger milk purchasers, and smaller purchasers have little influence on the UK weighted average. The farm gate price is the average price paid to producers, net of delivery charges. No deduction is made for superlevy. Some purchasers pay bonuses retrospectively to producers and these are included in the figures. 10. Composition of milk: The Rural Payment Agency no longer collects information on the butterfat or protein content of milk delivered to dairies (previously collected under the milk quota regulations). This information is now collected by Defra, DARD NI and RESAS from the milk prices surveys to obtain a UK average. In the same way as for the average prices, the average butterfat and protein contents are weighted according to the volume of milk purchased. 11. The data are subject to a variety of validation checks which identify inconsistencies in the data. All data are cleaned prior to publication in discussion with the survey respondents. Revisions policy: 12. Figures in this notice are provisional and subject to revision. We will provide information about any revisions we make to previously published information in this dataset, and the associated statistics notice. Revisions could occur for various reasons, including: a. if we have not received survey data from respondents we make an estimate based on their previous returns. These estimates are replaced with actual figures when they are received. b. survey respondents occasionally supply amended figures for previous periods. c. receipt of amended data from Scotland and Northern Ireland. d. payment of retrospective bonuses which affect the previously supplied price data.  13. This month there are minor revisions to previously published figures, due to actual survey data replacing previous estimates. For example, the July 2015 UK milk price has increased by 0.11 pence to 23.46 ppl.