There was agreement that the board’s work in the medium to long term should focus on three broad objectives: risk management; contracts and pricing schedules; and business efficiency.
Recent milk price cuts from First Milk and Meadow Foods will have furthered the surge in the number of dairy farmers reconsidering their future in the industry and there are others who are signed up to contract terms and pricing schedules that are neither fair nor transparent.
NFU dairy board chairman Rob Harrison cited A&B contracts as one example of unfair contracts which had crept into the industry recently – with little notice given to farmers that they were being introduced. He said this was no sign of collaboration and that it was “an unacceptable shift in the balance of risk onto farmers’ shoulders”.
“It’s an unbelievably difficult time for dairy farmers across the UK, with unprecedented market lows being seen. But, one thing that is very clear is that those farmers who are well represented, and understand the plans and views of their milk processor, have a clear advantage over those who don’t,” said Mr Harrison.
“The NFU has been calling for more formal producer representation for years and yet here we are again with farmers being made to sign up to unfair and unbalanced contract terms and pricing schedules that pass all the risk in the market back down the supply chain. It’s as if all the trust that has been built between a number of milk buyers and their suppliers has been all but forgotten.
“We need to empower farmers again. Yes, the market is struggling at the moment, and will take some time to recover, but now is the time to work together on improving producer representation and negotiating power with all milk buyers, for the benefit of all parties in the supply chain."
More on the NFU's recent work on dairy: