Farmers are paid based on three components of their milk: butterfat, protein, and lactose/other solids. In April 2022, the average price that processors were charged per litre of milk they processed into table milk was $1.00. The price processors paid for milk used to make cheese, yogurt, butter, and ice cream was slightly less.
The prices received by producers per provincial average hectolitre are publicly available on our website. The most recent statistics are available here.
Individual producers receive a range of prices; however, most are within a couple of cents per litre of one another because most Alberta dairy cows are Holstein breed, which have similar production characteristics for butterfat, protein, and lactose/other solids. Producers with other breeds of cow can receive significantly different revenue per litre.