Closed petition Sustainable Dairy Industry: Creation of Dairy Ombudsman

Closed on 11 October 2012

British dairy farmers do not set their own sale price for their milk, but are dictated to by processors, who in turn are squeezed by the supermarkets - farmers are often given a months notice of a price reduction, yet are tied into a contract that requires 12 months notice to leave.
Unfortunately, the market principles of supply and demand do not come into play in the milk market due to the relatively small number of purchasers.
The current milk price paid to farmers is BELOW the cost of production, meaning the industry is not sustainable.
The Government must bring in a dairy ombudsman or some other mechanism to ensure a fair distribution of profits between producer (farmer), processor and retailers, and to secure the future of the British dairy industry. Farmers are not asking for charity, merely a fair price for their product.