Dairy Industry

Fiona Bruce Excerpts

Thursday 13th September 2012 Westminster Hall

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

Cheshire has a long tradition of dairy farming. Few hon. Members in this Chamber will have failed to enjoy the taste of Cheshire cheese. May I also recommend to hon. Members the delightful Cheshire ice cream and invite them to enjoy that in Cheshire, on one of our farms?

Dairy farmers are hugely respected in Cheshire. They are appreciated not only for the essential staple foods that they put on the table, but for the contribution they make to our communities and landscape and for the hard work that they undertake all year round, at all times of the day and night and in all weathers, to produce that food, often with a smile on their face. I can testify to that because I live among the Cheshire farming community.

When a number of those farmers came to see me earlier this summer to talk about their anger, frustration and distress at the cost of milk and the fact that they were having to produce milk and sell it for less than their basic costs, I had to take that seriously. They entered the room without their usual smiles and were angry and distressed. Wendy Radley, who works at Holly farm in Congleton with her family, said:

“this situation gets worse on a daily basis. Our industry has seen yet another shattering fall in milk price which is simply not sustainable…something must be done about the need to provide protection for the primary producer. Currently vast swathes of dairy farmers are being forced to sell at around 20% below the acknowledged cost of production of a litre of milk.”

That is unacceptable, unsustainable and unjust, especially when retailers are making as much as 16p per litre of milk. Yet farmers are losing money on a litre of milk. One farmer said, “Not only can we not cover our costs. How are we supposed to provide for a pension?”

Knowing that this debate was coming up and about the concern in the community, I invited other farmers to write to me. I received a number of letters—I cannot read them all—from farmers and non-farmers and some unsolicited letters, including two from church leaders, who were concerned about members of their congregations and communities affected by this situation, and one from the leader of Cheshire East council. Although those letters were received before the most recent developments, they highlight the concerns in our local community. One recent development is the voluntary code of best practice on contractual relationships, which has been mentioned. It is important that that is effectively implemented and monitored and that the Government ensure that this happens. I hope that the Minister will deal with that point when responding.

Before dealing with the letter from the leader of Cheshire East council, I should like to mention a communication that I received from Stuart Yarwood of Lower Medhurst Green farm, who is an NFU representative in Cheshire, a parish council chairman and a great member of the community—I have hardly ever seen him without a smile on his face—just to highlight the anger among our local community. He says:

“I have attended a milk producers meeting at Stafford today with 500 to 600 other farmers. Our message to the processors who have cut milk prices again this week is clear.

30p a litre or you do not get the milk.

We are ready to either dump the milk or shut down the distribution centres… I never thought I would be distributing this type of language, but when you see how the supermarkets have ruined our industry and…government has watched, it is time to oil the plough and grub up the Cheshire Plain to plant some wheat.”

That would be a tragedy.

The letter from the leader of East Cheshire council says that he wants me

“to raise the Council’s very serious concerns over the plight of dairy farmers across Cheshire East. By early August a significant number of our farmers have seen the price they receive for milk reduce by 15 per cent over recent months, leading to severe economic hardship and, in some cases, decisions to go out of milk production altogether, losing a heritage which goes back many generations. The impact on the wider rural economy could be devastating.

Many farmers will be receiving significantly less for their milk than it cost to produce. No business can continue to produce a product if the price they receive for it is consistently lower than the cost of production. Over the last twenty years dairy farmers across the county have striven to become ever more efficient, they have been successful…but there is a point beyond which they cannot go.”

He goes on to ask me to encourage the Government to

“Lighten the load of farm regulation to prevent unnecessary extra regulatory costs…Put pressure on all major buyers of milk and dairy products to commit to pay fair prices that cover production costs”—

not only should prices cover costs, but a fair price of more than production costs should be provided. Finally, he asks the Government to ensure that

“the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill…currently before Parliament becomes law as quickly as possible. This is important legislation as an adjudicator could stamp out unfair practices at the retailer end of the supply chain.”

Finally, I received a letter from another local farmer, Barry Dale, who urged the Government to tackle TB, because the rules surrounding it

“have now become so restrictive and complex that even DEFRA’s own staff struggle to understand them… The supporting computer technology is also very inefficient and causes many delays and problems. Despite this I am very optimistic about the future of our dairy industry”,

and he hopes that the Government will continue to play their part.