Closed petition Dairy Farmers Demand A Fair Milk Price

Closed on 11 July 2013

I am a 42 year old dairy farmer producing milk in the UK. I have a wife, three-year-old son and a team of staff who depend on me to pay their wages. This year my milk buyer went bankrupt costing me £150,000. I have also lost 74 cows to TB in the last month which will further reduce my income by £100,000. Cuts in my milk price since April mean we are now looking at a price 5p/litre lower than cost of production. If this is not reversed, my income will be reduced by a further £200,000. My business will not survive this. Milk is a profitable but at the moment the profit is divided inequitably between supermarkets, processors and primary producers. It is the weakness of dairy farmers in negotiating the price they receive which allows farmers to be forced to accept such a terrible price below the cost of production. I am calling on the Government to readdress the balance of power between dairy farmers and milk buyers to ensure that farmers cannot be enslaved in such a manner.