Dairy Industry

Debate between Linda Riordan and Richard Drax

Wednesday 5th November 2014 Westminster Hall

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

I would be delighted to speak for the last few seconds. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (Simon Hart) for securing the debate. I will briefly speak up for Mr Rob Vearncombe, a dairy farmer from Kimmeridge, which is a beautiful place in my constituency. As fast as I can, I will list the points that he wanted to make directly to the Minister and the Government.

First of all, Mr Vearncombe thinks that the recent milk price cuts will have a devastating effect on the dairy industry in the medium to long term. In the short term, he believes that the industry can ride the storm for six to eight months because of the higher prices that have been achieved. For a dairy farmer who produces 1 million litres a year from 125 cows, the fall in milk prices represents a loss of about £35,000 a year. Colleagues have already mentioned such vast figures, and I do not believe that the public understand that 1p off, or added to, the price of milk makes a vast difference to the bottom line for a farmer, particularly a small one.

There is a huge variation in how farmers produce milk. There are high-intensity systems, and there are low-intensity systems such as those common in New Zealand, and the public do not understand the cost implications of the different systems. The type of land is a large factor.

Mr Vearncombe says that variations in milk price have a dramatic effect on profitability. He claims that farms that are achieving 35p a litre have been “poached” by supermarkets to supply directly, with strings attached—

[Mrs Linda Riordan (in the Chair)]

Order.