Don’t throw us to the wolves, dairy farmers urge bankers

THE National Farmers’ Union has been lobbying leading banks to urge them to avoid pulling the plug on struggling farms caught up in the milk price crisis.

NFU president Meurig Raymond told The Mail on Sunday that he had been in touch with all of the leading banks and was calling on them to support farmers who are under enormous financial pressure.

The crisis is particularly acute for 1,100 dairy farms which sell through the First Milk co-operative, which has said it is introducing a policy of delaying payments due to farmers by two weeks.

Raymond warned: ‘It is very difficult when farmers have bills to pay. A lot of bills are direct debits from bank accounts. The worst thing that can happen to these farmers now is to be refused credit through no fault of their own.’

He said he had received a broadly positive response from banks.

Jimmy McLean, chairman of agriculture business at Royal Bank of Scotland, said he was aware of the pressure facing many dairy farmers following the dramatic fall in the milk price.

He added: ‘We believe the longer term prospects for the dairy sector are good, with forecasts for demand likely to test the levels of supply.

‘We are, therefore, keen to support our customers through this period wherever we can.’

He said managers had been alerted to the First Milk situation in particular.

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, Raymond said some retailers were willing to pay enough for their milk to keep farmers in business, but others were not.

He called on the Government to do more to protect the industry.