Claim milk firm will leave farmers poorer
A top milk processor will still leave dairy farmers worse off later this year, despite calling off a potentially devastating price cut, managers of a family business have claimed.
A top milk processor will still leave dairy farmers worse off later this year, despite calling off a potentially devastating price cut, managers of a family business have claimed.
Tracey Lewis-Jones, whose family runs a farm between Welshpool and Oswestry, said her family was losing 4p on every litre of milk it sold to Arla Dairies and would be down by thousands of pounds.
She said the company, which supplies Morrisons and Asda, was not withdrawing price cuts already imposed – despite withdrawing plans to take a further 2p off the price paid to farmers for each litre from August 1.
The planned cut meant farmers would have received less than 25p per litre of milk produced – despite estimated production costs of about 30p.
But after widespread outcry and a farmers' campaign involving blockades in the county and a rally in London, Arla and other dairy giants called off the price cut. Arla farmers will continue to receive 27p a litre.
Morrisons had agreed to give an extra 6p per litre to Arla, of which farmers were receiving 2.5p, according to Mrs Lewis-Jones.
She said: "The supermarkets are giving more money to the processors to pass on to us, but how the processors calculate what they give to farmers nobody knows. We're still selling our milk at a loss."
She said the family had run the farm for over 42 years, but were worried if there would be a future for the fourth generation grandsons David and Charlie.
A spokeswoman for Arla said milk was subject to European and global markets, and these were seeing supply outstrip demand, with prices dropping 'significantly' as a result.
She said the company, which is owned by European dairy firms, was 'sympathetic', but could not increase prices if it did not have income to pay for it.
Jeremy Lowe, Shropshire NFU dairy advisor, said: "What we have to remember is that there were wide-scale price cuts earlier in the year and these have had a real toll on the industry before this came to a head.
"We need to keep the pressure on with those who have given ground and we need a fair price commitment that covers milk production costs for those still below the break-even point," he said.
