Data users: 1. Users of the milk utilisation data include the EU Commission where the statistics are required monthly under Council Directive 96/16EC (and subsequent amendments). 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 utilisation statistics accompany another Defra monthly publication on farm gate milk prices (this is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-milk-prices-and-composition-of-milk) which shows the prices paid to milk producers by dairies. This data, alongside the milk utilisation data, 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. Milk utilisation statistics are also used heavily by the British Cheese Board to monitor volumes of national cheese production over time. 4. 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. 5. Contact details are available on the front page of this notice, for you to send feedback or ask questions about the information provided. Methodology: 6. E&W statistics presented in this dataset are from the monthly survey of milk availability and usage by dairies in England and Wales. It is a voluntary sample survey with 30 dairies sampled monthly and an additional 28 dairies surveyed quarterly. The response rate is regularly 100%. Monthly estimates are made for the dairies which are only sampled quarterly. 7. Based on long term comparisons with information collected by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) on the volume of milk delivered to dairies (information collected under milk quota regulations until March 2015), we calculate the 58 dairies in this survey cover approximately 90% of the total milk available for processing. The E&W statistics are not raised to account for the remaining 10% of milk deliveries. 8. UK statistics are compiled from the survey data collected by Defra for England and Wales, RESAS for Scotland, DARD for Northern Ireland and prior to March 2015, information collected by the RPA under milk quota regulations. In the UK results the England and Wales survey data is raised to account for all the milk delivered to dairies in England and Wales. In the short term, this estimate is based on the long term comparison with RPA volume data which indicates coverage of approximately 90%. 9. 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. Northern Ireland results are available at http://www.dardni.gov.uk/index/statistics/agricultural-inputs-and-outputs/milk-ultilisation-statistics.htm. Data for Scotland are not available separately due to confidentiality reasons. If you have any further questions regarding data for Scotland then please contact RERAD in Scotland by either email agric.stats@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or phone 0300 244 9723. 10. The wholesale production figures (e.g. for butter and cheese) are estimated from the volume of milk used for each production using conversion factors advised by the dairy industry. 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. Conversion factors Conversion factors are applied to the raw milk data to estimate production volumes of commodities. The conversion factors differ depending on the type of milk used in the production processes for each commodity. This is because the separation process which converts raw milk into whole milk, skimmed milk and cream means that the resulting litres of milk in each type have differing characteristics (and fat content) and are referred to as “skim litres” or “cream litres”. Different quantities are required to generate products such as butter or cheese so the conversion factors used to convert volumes of milk into production volumes are: 2.05 cream litres = 1 kg butter 9 whole milk litres= 1 kg cheese Revisions policy : 12. Figures in this dataset are provisional and subject to revision. We will provide information about any revisions we make to previously published information in this dataset and 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. 13. This month previously published monthly data for 2014 has been revised due to the receipt of amended data from Northern Ireland . There have also been revisions to UK April and May 2015 figures due to amended survey data and revised Scottish data for example UK production for May has been revised from 1371 to 1374 million litres (0.2%).