Should we all pay our dairy farmers more for a pint of milk?

THE recent protests regarding the price of milk are justified. I live in a rural area and farms are being auctioned off weekly. We must pay the farmers a fair price for their products, and the supermarkets must cut their profits or be forced to do so. Our milk is produced in a very closely monitored environment and is a pure product, which cannot always be said for milk imported from overseas, where we do not know the state of the dairies or production methods. Supermarkets in other countries are not allowed to make such huge profits as ours. Profiteering should not be allowed by law.

INDA CURLEY, Gillingham, Dorset. BEFORE we know where we are, we will be depending on milk coming over in tankloads from France and they will have us all over a barrel with their prices. The government should do more to support our dairy farmers.

Mrs F. RUTHERFORD, Edinburgh. WE ALL like low prices and for those of us on fixed incomes they

make a difference. Even so, I would still pay that little bit more for my milk. The alternative is to buy from abroad. Do we really want to go down that route again?

BARRY LARKIN, Burgess hill, W. sussex. No ONE can deny there is a problem in the dairy industry, caused by world oversupply and new technology in cow management. The real problem is that we are moving away from the traditional way of producing milk off grass in the summer, and silage and concentrates in the winter, with expected annual yields of 5,000 to 6,000 litres per cow. The new system is to keep the cows in all year, fed mainly on concentrates and silage, with expected annual yields of up to 12,000 litres per cow. When they are no longer productive, we eat them. our fields will be empty of grazing stock in the summer and the land will be used to grow cereal and silage to feed indoor animals. In future, will we pour imported milk on our cereal? I think we will. Although I do not like what is happening, we have to accept that the supermarkets and housewives have the last word. sir ERIC HOWELLS CBE, llanddewi Velfrey, pembs. I BLAME the British people for not supporting our milk farmers. We have had milk delivered to our door by the same family, come rain or snow, since 1976, the year we married. We have just been told it’s going up 2p to 52p a pint, money well spent, I think. We see the cows grazing in the fields where we live and know that is where our milk comes from, as opposed to some co-operative somewhere. MARTYN BRADWELL, deepcar, sheffield. WHAT’S the problem with how much supermarkets charge? As long as farmers get a fair cost for their milk, what does it matter if supermarkets sell the product as a ‘loss leader’?

V. Curtis, Newquay, Cornwall.