Saddened to hear of pressures on farmers

IHAVE been very saddened to hear this week about the pressure that some of our farmers are under thanks to cheaper imports.

We tend to take for granted that our farmers will keep producing products for us yet they do need help and support from us all.

It can’t be right that in some cases the price farmers get paid for milk, in particular, has fallen below the production cost.

There are also growing concerns over some supermarkets selling New Zealand lamb at cheaper prices which has led to farmers across North Wales demonstrating outside many Tesco stores including the superstore at Broughton and Bangor.

This situation cannot carry on as it will cause great hardship to many farming families and in some cases financial ruin.

It is a great shame that farmers have to resort to waving placards and buying all the milk from the shelves so that their plight can be highlighted.

This sort of behaviour is unheard of for farmers so we really do need to sit up and take note.

I do feel that it is a very sorry state of affairs and more needs to be done to protect our dairy and livestock farmers.

As customers we really can also do more to help their cause and make sure that we are doing everything we can to support them.

We can choose to buy Welsh products and that is what we should do.

I realise that this will not happen overnight but the falling milk and lamb prices have left many farmers desperately worried about their futures and they need help.

Farming leaders in Wales say that the situation is serious and urgent action is needed and I would agree with that.

The NFU Cymru president has said that unions in the UK needed to unite and work together to help alleviate this dire problem and UK farming unions are holding an urgent summit in London next Monday August 14, to discuss the growing problems.

I think that this is a step in the right direction and hope that they can work something out together.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me at my constituency office in Denbigh on 01745 813345 if I can help you with any issues.