Call For Government Not To Desert Dairy Farmers

4.46.26pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 25th Sep 2007

Call for Government action to help dairy farmers

Liz Leffman, prospective Liberal Democrat MP for Meon Valley, has called on the Government not to shy away from the ever-increasing problems facing dairy farming in England.

A recent Dairy Farming in England report showed that milk consumption has fallen by 23 per cent since 1985, while butter consumption has halved in the same period.

Annual milk production is now at its lowest level since 2001/2, and diary farmers are becoming polarised, with a larger percentage of producers having either less than 50 or more than 200 cows.

Liz, a former marketing manager for the National Dairy Council, said: "Farming is very much a minority industry in the countryside now, employing less than 5 per cent of the population. On average, three dairy farmers leave every day as they lose the battle to make a profit from producing milk in the face of low prices, rising energy costs and an unbalanced supply chain.

"At a time when it is most needed, the Government continues to abandon our dairy farmers and push off responsibility for the industry on to unelected and unaccountable quangos such as the Office of Fair Trading.

"Last year the Milk Development Council showed that it is supermarkets that have benefited from any price rises in milk and not farmers. A decade ago, supermarkets made little more than 1p on a litre of milk - now they make close to 15p."

Her comments come following news last week that the Office of Fair Trading has accused four supermarkets of secretly informing each other before putting up the price of milk, cheese and butter. The OFT allege only the supermarkets and large dairy processors - not farmers - benefited from the price hikes.