FUW HIGHLIGHTS CONCERNS OF FLAT MILK PROFILES

Welsh dairy farmers have expressed concerns about the adverse effect of flat milk supply profiles on their farm-gate prices.

Farmers' Union of Wales vice president Eifion Huws has written to Dairy UK chairman Robert Wiseman highlighting the impact flat profiles throughout the year are having on many dairy farm margins.

"While conversion to a flatter profile naturally incurs significant costs, maintaining such a profile is also much more costly than producing milk in accordance with the seasons, and this is particularly the case in many areas of Wales," wrote Mr Huws, who runs a dairy farm on Anglesey and is the FUW's milk committee chairman.

"Notwithstanding our concerns regarding the farm-gate price of milk in general, which you are well aware of, we do not believe that the majority who incur the extra costs associated with flat profiles receive farm-gate prices which are sufficient to make up for these costs.

"It has often been stated by Dairy UK and individual processors that the advantages of seasonal production for farmers are more than offset by the associated costs of seasonal variations in processing, and that flatter profiles therefore increase the overall income of the industry.

"Given this, we believe that dairy farmers should be afforded a fair income for their milk which fully takes account of the cost of production, including any increased input costs which benefit the dairy industry as a whole.

"I would therefore be grateful if you would raise this issue with members of Dairy UK, with a view to redressing the above concerns at the earliest possible opportunity."

Dairy UK represents the interests of dairy farmers, producer co-operatives, manufacturers of dairy products, and processors and distributors of liquid milk throughout the United Kingdom. Between them Dairy UK's members collect and process about 85% of UK milk production.

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