NFUS Milk Contract Message Goes South of the Border

NFU Scotland’s call for fundamental changes in milk supply arrangements has been discussed with a group of English dairy farmers after the union took up an invitation to address producers in the NFU’s West Midlands region.

NFUS milk committee member Rory Christie and milk policy manager, George Jamieson, presented the NFUS milk pricing formula initiative to the meeting in Harper Adams College in Shropshire last week following an invitation from NFU’s dairy board milk member, Michael Oakes.

The union shared a platform with NFU’s chief dairy adviser, Rob Newbery, who also provided farmers at the meeting with an update on milk contracts and the positive developments from recent and ongoing political activity.

The NFUS initiative looks to deliver a more sustainable dairy supply chain. A key element is the desire to see a transparent pricing formula based on existing market indicators made a compulsory element of contracts between dairy farmers and their milk buyers.

Mr Oakes had previously been briefed on the pricing initiative when NFUS representatives attended an NFU dairy board meeting in May, and was keen to allow more English producers the opportunity to learn more ahead of the NFU Scotland dairy debate being held at this year’s Dairy Event in Birmingham on September 6.

Significant momentum is now building in a number of areas within the dairy sector both in the UK and in Europe, all of which is aimed at driving beneficial change into the "dysfunctional dairy supply chain", delivering a fairer deal for dairy farmers and developing a more sustainable long-term future for the dairy industry.

George Jamieson said: "This is a campaign that has the ultimate aim of working together with the supply chain in a progressive professional manner to develop a competitive, collaborative dairy industry that can compete effectively in the UK and world market.

"It presents an opportunity and not a threat to processors and retailers alike but it is built on the premise that the existing status quo is not an option.

"We believe one key element to progress in the dairy sector is for an effective, market related, transparent pricing formula being incorporated into every contract between a dairy farmer and his milk buyer.

"That formula should be agreed in advance, should react to the true market for milk and dairy products and set a current market related value on raw milk.

"We received the unanimous backing of more than 500 dairy farmers in Scotland when we rolled out our proposal in May and the reaction of the English farmers present last week was very positive, believing our initiative to be both innovative and credible.

"It is the nature of our milk industry that any change needs to be delivered nationwide. It is essential that producers across the country work together to motivate milk buyers to accept that the current dairy supply arrangements are unsustainable and that there must change within the sector if producers and processors want to be in a position to compete in a growing and buoyant global dairy market.

"NFU Scotland's proposals and ongoing work with NFU have created a great deal of discussion and our ambition is to fuel the debate across the country in an effort to evolve a pricing structure that truly reflects the value of milk.

"We are willing to work with any and all in the dairy sector to facilitate and promote the change that is clearly required. It is crucial that stakeholders truly understand our work and policy and the invitation to share a platform at an NFU regional meeting was another very worthwhile step in our campaign."

Read the full NFUS press release.

More dairy industry news from Scotland.