Half of dairy farmers plan to quit as no future in sight, survey reveals

Almost half of UK dairy farmers are scheduled to leave the sector, according to an intentions survey carried out by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF).
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Of those who remain, 45% are planning to put their expansion plans on hold, leading RABDF bosses to call for continued support from the retail sector.
Mike King, RABDF vice chairman, said: “Forty nine per cent of producers see no future for themselves if current farmgate prices persist for the next six months leaving Britain with approximately 5,000 dairy farms, of which half have no confidence in immediate investment.
“Those intentions could result in the industry with insufficient critical mass and consumers short of British liquid milk and dairy produce.”

Reasons for planning to quit ranged from base price well below cost of production, long hours for very little financial return, the banks were unwilling to give further assistance, to no successor so why continue. Lack of surplus cash was the simple answer from the majority of those who indicated they intended to put their expansion plans on hold.
Mr King continued: “The loss of dairy farmers continues abated with 434 quitting in the last 12 months during which period over £1 billion has been wiped off farmgate incomes due to falling milk prices.
“However supermarket discounting has also been among the key price influences. Whilst we welcome the support for liquid milk that some supermarkets have demonstrated in the last few weeks, we continue to urge all retailers to pay all farmers a fair price for milk for processing – one which covers cost of production and leaves sufficient for investment purposes.”
The results of the survey came as the European Union announced on Monday that it would be providing a package of emergency support worth up to £365 million. The move came after thousands of farmers from across Europe took part in a heated demonstration in Brussels, which was called in response to low prices across all sectors and likely delays to subsidy support payments.
Dr Judith Bryans, Dairy UK chief executive, said the announcement from the commission included a number of positive steps to support the dairy industry.
“The measures focusing on trade and exports, promotion and volatility are very much in line with Dairy UK’s key priorities and we are already actively involved in developing export markets, facilitating foreign inspection visits, exploring new tools to manage the impact of price volatility and promoting our great British dairy products,” she said.
“However, we are very disappointed by the Commission’s stance on the review of the intervention price. Although we agree with and fully support a market-oriented industry, exceptional times call for exceptional measures. Increasing the intervention price would help stabilise the market and give the dairy industry a much-needed immediate relief.”

Source: Wester Morning
 

Mirá También

Así lo expresó Domingo Possetto, secretario de la seccional Rafaela, quien además, afirmó que a los productores «habitualmente los ignoran los gobiernos». Además, reconoció la labor de los empresarios de las firmas locales y aseguró que están «esperanzados» con la negociación entre SanCor y Adecoagro.

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