Shropshire dairy farmers resorting to hand-outs for income in milk price row
Dairy farmers in Shropshire are resorting to hand-outs as their income has dropped by as much as 35 per cent, figures released today reveal.
Almost £100,000 was given to farmers struggling to survive after their livelihood was taken away by plummeting milk prices.
Farmers today spoke of their despair amid the crisis, which has seen cuts to the price farmers are paid for milk.
The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institute made its fourth biggest pay-out in Shropshire, giving out £94,000.
It said some farmers were struggling to cover even the basic expenses of living.
Groups campaigning or better milk prices were today preparing to restart direct action.
They say they will strike this week in Shropshire, possibly repeating protests and blockades at dairies in the region.
The current price farmers are paid by processing giants such as Muller-Wiseman and Dairy Crest sits between 23.2 pence per litre and 25.1ppl.
But with the cost of milk production at almost 30ppl, farmers say they are making a loss.
Neale Sadler, 45, from Edstaston near Wem, runs the family farm, which he has worked on all his life.
He said: "Over the last 12 months 30 to 35 per cent of milk income has gone.
"It is an incredible loss to be dealing with, especially when our costs have stayed the same."
Rod MacBean, 53, who farms in Aston, near Wem has been in the industry on and off for his whole life, and independently for the last 12 years.
He warned: "Quite simply, most farmers are running out of cash. We can't operate without cash and it is all drying up.
"Farmers will simply cease to exist – not because they are doing anything wrong but because they will run out of cash.
"It has become a case of racing to the bottom. It is a crying shame."
Linda Jones of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institute said it had received increased requests from farmers in trouble.
She said: "It is a myth that all farmers are wealthy – many live on or below the poverty line. We help in many different ways and every case is different."
