Dairy farmers to meet Ministers
after weekend of price protests

A Defra spokesman last night announced that Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman and Farming Minister Jim Paice will meet farmers, milk processors and supermarkets at the Royal Welsh Show, in Powys.

Dairy farmers are furious about cuts of up to 2p a litre in the amount they receive from major milk processors.

The cut means farmers are being paid a price much lower than it costs to produce milk, leading many to fear thousands will be forced out of business.

Mr Paice said yesterday that he wanted to get an agreement from all parties for a voluntary code for contracts.

Late last week the Farmers for Action group staged a blockade of the Arla processing plant in Leeds, part of wider demonstrations across the country.

Meanwhile the protests appear to be provoking action from sectors of the retail community, with the Co-operative and Morrisons supermarket chains both announcing rises in premiums paid for milk to farmers.

Farmers for Action however vowed to continue protests outside milk processing plants until they receive a better deal.

The FFA said about 750 of 
its members turned out on Saturday to demonstrate outside 
the Robert Wiseman dairy in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, and another plant at Foston, 
Derbyshire, with more demonstrations planned for last night and today.

Vice chairman Andrew Hemming, who farms near Heath, West Midlands, said: “It’s hard work – it’s annoying that we have to go to these lengths to make common sense prevail.

“We had a fantastic turn-out at Foston – towards the end there were nearly 500 farmers up there and they blockaded until 3am.”

FFA, which is not planning to stage any further protests until Sunday, is also lobbying outside supermarkets to get its message across to consumers.

Thanking consumers for backing the FFA campaign through Facebook and Twitter, Mr Hemming said it had proved an effective way for the public to pressure retailers and processors into acting fairly.

The tenant farmer, who has a herd of 200 dairy cows, added: “We have got a fantastic momentum going, with the consumer being aware and very supportive.

“It (the protest) is working and I have never seen support like it in all the years I have been involved with Farmers For Action. There is anger and desperation but everyone is pulling together – we won’t be giving in, I can assure you of that.”

Morrisons said it was increasing by 5p per litre the amount it pays in its farmgate milk price, which will be reviewed after three months. The announcement comes 24 hours after the Co-op also increased the premium it pays to farmers.

Morrisons commercial director Richard Hodgson said: “We recognise the exceptional pressure on farmers currently and continue to aim to support all farmers not just those that have dedicated contracts.

“The recent announcements by our processors will reduce the payment to farmers for the milk we sell and therefore we are announcing payments that negate their impact.”

Morrisons said the latest increase would take the premium it paid to farmers to 6p per litre because it already paid a 1p premium for milk.

The latest increase would be spread across all non-aligned farmers in its processors’ pools from August 1.

The retailer said it was also looking at a “longer-term solution” to volatile milk prices and would now “accelerate this programme”.

Farm leaders welcomed the announcement.

NFU president Peter Kendall said: “We’re really pleased to see Morrisons’ response to the calls from a coalition of farming groups to reverse the announced price reductions and address the exceptional costs dairy farmers are now facing.

“We need a long-term solution that addresses the need for a sustainable raw milk supply into the future. It’s now critical that other retailers and major buyers of milk respond to the responsible steps Morrisons is taking.”