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Universities, institutes, government and industry bodies. Market and policy analysis with its sources shown, the technical questions the industry is asking, and the forums where research meets commercial decisions.
Analysis and news
20 pieces filed for Research & Policy
Everything in The Dairy Mail tagged with the topics this role owns, newest and most strategic first. The Research & Policy hub adds partners, events and GROW.
The Invisible Factory: the value leaving dairy through its drains
The largest untapped margin on most dairy sites is not a new product but the value already leaving as effluent, heat and yield loss; the first commercial act is to measure it.
20 August 2026
2026 the volatility year
2026 will not be the recovery year the sector expected but the year that resets it, splitting shoppers into clearer tiers and leaving mainstream Cheddar the most exposed.
27 April 2026
Cheddar rises 9% in a month and still trails the milk price
Mild Cheddar rose 9% in September, taking a litre made into Cheddar and whey to 39.08 pence and putting cheese back above butter and powder at the factory gate, but the October milk price rises were announced weeks before that figure was published, and AHDB says Cheddar prices remain too low to cover them.
29 September 2026
The invoice arrives this autumn. Nobody can tell you what it says.
The most expensive packaging decision available to a mid-sized processor this year is not a material decision at all: packaging with missing recyclability data is rated red, so 100 tonnes rated red by default rather than by design costs £13,000 more than the same tonnage rated green — larger than the gap between a realistic pack mix and a perfect one.
22 September 2026
The three numbers in your packaging budget are last year's
Year-two EPR resets the rate and starts charging on recyclability, so the number worth working out this month is not tonnage times rate but the red, amber and green split — and how much of the red is red only because an assessment was never submitted.
21 September 2026
Can a dairy become its own energy company?
Energy from waste is moving from a compliance cost to a resilience asset; the dairies that run digestion as a business line, not a bolt-on, hedge energy price and carbon at the same time.
19 August 2026
Acid whey is not the problem. The business model is.
Acid whey is a business-model failure, not a technical one; the value is real but stranded until processors design for a saleable co-product rather than a disposal problem.
18 August 2026
From whey stream to high-value ingredient
Integrated ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis let processors recover high-value whey protein while returning most process water to the plant.
16 June 2026
The whey forward 2026/27
UK and Irish producers who commit whey-processing capex before 2028 will capture premium margin for a decade, while those still exporting raw whey watch the value accrue elsewhere.
24 April 2026
GLP-1, protein and dairy's opportunity
As GLP-1 users prioritise nutritional density, dairy's high-quality protein becomes a real advantage if the sector repositions its messaging.
13 March 2026
Dairy Forum Ireland: a platform for a new era of Irish dairy
Dairy Forum Ireland is positioned to give Irish producers the visibility, buyer access and export readiness needed to compete internationally.
11 February 2026
Part 3 | from by-product to billion-euro asset
Ireland's whey advantage in functional nutrition rests on value extraction over volume, and sustaining it demands relentless investment in processing, research and talent.
13 January 2026
Part 2 | the sustainability reckoning
Irish dairy's climate reckoning is painful, but verified low-carbon production could turn sustainability into a defensible premium export advantage.
6 January 2026
Part 1 | Irish dairy at a crossroads
Constrained by tightening environmental limits, Irish dairy must build strategy around value, speciality products and verified sustainability rather than more volume.
11 December 2025
New Zealand's ICDA success strengthens UK export prospects
Independent ICDA recognition gives Fonterra's grass-fed dairy the provenance and quality proof to win premium UK retail and foodservice listings post-FTA.
17 October 2025
Removing steps, unlocking time: ZwitterCo Evolution membranes
ZwitterCo reports its anti-fouling Evolution membranes eliminate the enzyme cleaning step and cut CIP costs by more than half.
10 September 2025
WZ Packaging: leading the way in sustainable dairy packaging with the Enviro Ultra-Laminates range
WZ Packaging's Enviro Ultra-Laminates range shows dairy packaging can reduce material and improve recyclability without sacrificing barrier protection.
1 July 2025
The U.S. tariffs: a wake-up call for the UK and European dairy industries
The US tariffs make market diversification, provenance-led premium positioning and coordinated trade lobbying urgent priorities for UK and European dairy producers.
8 April 2025
Navigating tariff challenges in a shifting global trade landscape
UK dairy can weather a more protectionist world by diversifying markets, leaning on premium provenance and actively shaping trade policy rather than absorbing tariff shocks.
18 March 2025
Sustainability: the driving force behind the dairy and cheese industry's transformation in 2025
Producers that embed and clearly communicate sustainable practices will win consumer trust and secure long-term commercial advantage.
29 January 2025