Farmers forced to ditch one million litres of milk

DAIRY: Defra urged to issue those affected a hardship payment

More than one million litres of milk has been poured down the drain by British farmers since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Interim results from a survey by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) reveals just over one million litres of milk was thrown away between April 6 and 20.

The survey, which launched last week, asks farmers to log any losses they are incurring as a result of Covid-19.

RABDF said although the amount of milk affected seemed to have dropped since April 20, there were still some farmers receiving a reduced price for their milk and occasionally milk was being thrown away.

The association said it had collated the first batch of results from its survey to give to Defra, in a bid to highlight the scale of the problems affecting the UK dairy sector.

“We continue to monitor the situation regarding the loss in value and all milk being discarded,” said RABDF chairman Peter Alvis.

“There are about two million litres of milk a day, that have not found a home in the retail market. What our survey shows is the negative impact it is having on those farmers most severely affected.”

Mr Alvis encouraged farmers to keep submitting information to the survey, which can be accessed online at rabdf. co.uk/survey

“It is imperative farmers continue submitting their information about the volume and value of milk lost so we can keep Defra informed of the size of the challenge this sector faces,” he added.

“We request Defra considers the seriousness of the situation and supports these farmers with a hardship payment. Any data we can continue feeding into Defra will only go to help this industry’s cause.”

Defra Secretary of State George Eustice has said the government does not rule out giving extra assistance to struggling farmers.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We don’t rule out some type of hardship payment once we’ve got to the bottom of the data.”

Meanwhile NFU Scotland’s milk chairman, Gary Mitchell, has criticised Muller for rescinding a proposed price rise and called for a full explanation.

He said: “All dairy farmers need to be paid a sustainable price, and for this to happen we need more transparency at this challenging time for all.”

Picture: PA. Cows being milked at South Acre Farm near York.