The chairman of protest group Farmers for Action has said the Government must intervene more in the dairy supply chain and make sure farmers benefit from money made at the top.
David Handley, chairman of Farmers For Action (FFA), said average losses for dairy farms have been as much as £90,000 over the last two years.
He told the Shropshire Star: “All farmers are asking for is a price that reflects what it costs to produce the milk.We are using all sorts of different tools to improve efficiency and are benchmarking against the very best to see if we can all improve.
“The UK is a marvellous place to produce dairy. The people appreciate the product but it comes back to the Government again. Why are they continuing to let this happen year in year out? We start to get some stability and prices start to slip again.”
“Somebody has to do something to investigate the market and it’s good to hear the Government are looking at the grocery code adjudicator to see if they can give more powers for those further down the supply chain than just retailers to find out what is going on.”
Protests in London and beyond
Last year, protests around Europe - including the UK - took place due to falling incomes for dairy farmers.
Hundreds of farmers arrived in London on 23 March 2016 to pressure the Government to do more to help Britain’s agricultural crisis.
The protest, organised by FFA, saw the group present a letter of concern to David Cameron at Number 10 Downing Street.
Mr Handley added that the group has received a report from the dairy industry which states the average losses for dairy farms has been as much as £90,000 over the last two years.
Meadow Foods, Arla Foods and Barber's have recently decreased its milk price to owners, ending months of consecutive rises.
