The Farmers’ Union of Wales’ milk and dairy produce committee has backed a policy of supporting traditional family farms rather than the much debated concept of "super-dairies".
At a recent meeting of the committee, delegates unanimously backed a policy position stating that: "The issues surrounding super-dairies are complex and some groups have hijacked the issue to lobby on separate or peripheral issues.
"The Farmers’ Union of Wales does not agree that super-dairies would routinely lead to welfare issues, as some would have us believe. However, the union has major concerns regarding the impact of such farms in terms of the public’s perception of the dairy industry, and on the milk price and the industry as a whole.
"Given that a single super-dairy could take the place of scores of average sized family dairy farms, the union would prefer to see traditional family farms staying in business and receiving a fair price for their milk, rather than single massive units pushing others out of business and being used as an excuse to further depress the milk prices received by average sized Welsh dairy farms."
Committee chairman Eifion Huws, a dairy farmer from Anglesey, welcomed the decision. He said: "The size of the average dairy herd in Wales is around 75, so it does not take a genius to work out that a single super-dairy milking three thousand cattle could take the place of forty average sized family farms.
"It also seems inevitable that the ability of super-dairies to supply large volumes will lead to those who supply more modest volumes being accused of being ‘inefficient’ and receiving a lower milk price as a result.
"We are already seeing a situation in which farms which would previously have been considered as not insubstantial are being paid a lot less for their milk than their larger neighbours, and super-dairies are likely to accelerate this trend.
"The major retailers are driving some farmers towards this type of expansion, and many others out of the industry. My preference would be to see traditional family dairy farms staying in business and receiving a fair price for their milk, rather than a single massive unit pushing others out of business and being used as an excuse to further depress the milk prices received by average sized Welsh dairy farms.
"I believe that the general public also agrees with this sentiment.
"The FUW was set up more than half a century ago to protect the interests of Welsh family farms, and I believe that this policy is fully in keeping with that objective."