Dairy farms could be forced out of business because of falling milk prices, warns Shropshire farmer

Dairy farmers in Shropshire will be forced out of business unless the Government intervenes to stop prices plummeting.
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The warning has been issued by Shropshire farmer Andrew Bebb, who described the current prices paid by dairies as “not sustainable”.
He said farmers were selling their cows and leaving the industry due to being forced to operate at a continued loss.
It comes as the price of milk fell to just 22p a pint – its lowest level in seven years.
Dairy giant First Milk yesterday delayed its next payment to suppliers by two weeks as it attempts to put its finances in order.
The National Farmers Union has also revealed figures which show 60 dairy farmers across Britain stopped producing milk in December alone.
Mr Bebb, who farms on land at Hanwood, near Shrewsbury, said: “The current price is not sustainable. It will inevitably mean farmers going out of business sooner rather than later.
“Farmers can’t produce milk at a loss for too long. Money will go down the drain. It will be more sensible to sell cows, unfortunately. If prices don’t improve I think more people will desert the industry this month and next month.
“Without Government intervention I can’t see anything will happen.”
Shropshire’s biggest dairy, Market Drayton-based Muller Wiseman, recently said the price it will pay farmers for milk from February will remain at 25.90p per litre. But the firm said its milk price cuts in the last few months were due to a continuing imbalance between supply of milk from farms and demand for dairy products, both in the UK and worldwide.
Mr Bebb added: “Hopefully, milk prices have bottomed out and I hope they will stabilise. Global commodity prices are on the upturn so I see a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.”
NFU president Meurig Raymond spoke at the 25th Semex Conference in Glasgow this week where he highlighted the current situation with First Milk and set out what he wants to see happen across the board to support dairy farmers at this crucial time.
He said: “I told them (First Milk) that their time scales were unacceptable. I am also challenging them to get out and explain to their farmer suppliers what these changes are and explain how it will impact them. I know that First Milk have their AGM later this month, but the questions need answering now.
“The recent milk price cuts, from most processors, have had a massive impact with some farmers now facing their lowest milk price since 2007, at around 20p per litre. At the same time, farm costs remain some 36 per cent higher than they were eight years ago.”
NFU dairy board chairman Rob Harrison said: “I, like my colleagues on the NFU dairy board, are completely appalled by the on-going price cuts crippling our industry and we are working hard to support our members and their businesses.”

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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