Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce price volatility in the dairy industry; and if she will make a statement.

I had a constructive discussion on the prospects for introducing futures markets for skimmed milk powder at the Dairy Supply Chain Forum on 19 November. Members are exploring how this could be achieved and the NFU will report on progress in the New Year.

Through the joint Defra/industry Farming Resilience Group, which I chair, we are also considering the potential for the use of futures markets to manage volatility and risk. The next meeting will take place in January 2015.

On its website, DairyCo provides domestic dairy farmers with a range of educational materials and guidance on futures markets and other forms of price risk management.