FOOT AND MOUTH MUST NOT PREVENT HIGHER MILK
PRICES
The NFU today warned that the foot and mouth
crisis must not be used during forthcoming negotiations as an excuse for
failing to pay farmers a better price for their milk come 1 April.
NFU Milk Committee Chairman Terrig Morgan said the processing and retailing
sectors must not take advantage of vulnerable farmers to bear down on milk
prices.
He called for at least an extra 2 pence per litre to be paid to producers,
warning: "Without this increase as a bare minimum we will see a further
exodus of dairy farmers from the industry."
He said: "There are already question marks over the longer term milk
supply situation in Britain.
"We are extremely unlikely to reach our quota this year and this could be
repeated next year, especially with the continuing poor weather and with
dwindling feed stocks. This situation can only be exacerbated by the foot and
mouth disaster.
"The short-term decision making that has typified the industry over the
past three years must be replaced with long-term reinvestment with the aim of
returning dairy farming to profitability.
"In my opinion we need at least 24 pence per litre for that to
happen."
The NFU will be pressing retailer and processors for a desperately-needed rise
in the milk price paid to farmers over the next few weeks, he said.
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