Government considering hardship payment for dairy farmers

admin — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 12:45:10 +0000

The Government is currently considering implementing a new hardship payment for dairy farmers following warnings that thousands of cows could be slaughtered.
Demand for dairy products in the hospitality sector has fallen significantly due to the closure of many cafes and restaurants, which in turn has forced some farmers to discard excess milk.
Phil Langslow, Chair of the Provision Trade Federation estimates that 20 million litres of liquid milk a week would normally have been going into the foodservice industry with only around 20 per cent of that market still viable during the current lockdown.
Talks recently took place between Government officials and industry members where a ‘doomsday scenario’ was raised involving the potential culling of around 4 per cent (80,000) of the national herd of nearly two million.
Whitehall sources have indicated that officials are now looking at the idea of a hardship fund, which could take the form of a targeted time-limited payment for badly affected farmers.
The former Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson, said: “There is an urgent need for some form of a rapid hardship fund for the minority of dairy farmers, who temporarily have no market for their milk, to avoid seeing cows slaughtered.”
His comments were supported by Chris Loder, the Conservative MP for West Dorset, who agreed that the Government must act urgently to provide a hardship fund to support dairy farmers in desperate need to avoid any culling of the national herd.
The National Farmers Union, Dairy UK and the Provision Trade Federation have also proposed action including targeted grant support and a scheme whereby some cows would effectively be “furloughed”.
The current Environment Secretary, George Eustice will discuss the issue with senior politicians, while talks with MPs and trade reps are also due this week.

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COVID-19 – Dairy industry set to work together to manage milk supply

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 10:59:56 +0000

The dairy industry is set to join together to address challenges in the sector following the Government’s announcement that it will temporarily relax some elements of competition law to support the industry.
The new legalisation will allow the dairy industry to adapt to the challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic, with changes in the supply chain caused by decreased demand from the hospitality sector and reduced collection by retailers representing key issues.
Competition rules were already relaxed to allow suppliers, logistics services and retailers to work together, but this latest announcement will allow for dairy farmers and producers to collaborate further to ensure that they can avoid surplus milk going to waste.
The collaboration could include sharing facilities and labour, as well as co-operating to reduce production temporarily or identifying any hidden capacity in the supply chain for processing milk into other dairy products.
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) will work together with Dairy UK to lead the industry-wide co-operation, identifying any spare capacity, as well as how to reduce any production and stimulate demand.
The dairy industry is the UK’s largest farming sector, with milk accounting for more than 16 per cent of total agricultural output, while dairy farmers produce over 40 million litres of milk every day.
George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, said: “Our dairy industry plays a crucial role in feeding the nation and it is essential that they are able to work together at this time.
“We’ve heard loud and clear our dairy farmers’ concerns which is why we are further suspending competition rules law to allow dairy farmers to work together on some of the most pressing challenges they are facing. I am also urging farm businesses to access the loans that are available from their bank to support them in this period.”

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Government considering hardship payment for dairy farmers

COVID-19 – Dairy industry set to work together to manage milk supply