Farming leaders from across the dairy industry have issued a call on retailers and the food service sector to take steps to secure the future of British supply. The call comes as many dairy farmers are once again being paid less for their milk than it costs to produce it.

In a letter to all the major retailers, discounters and major food service players the NFU, Farmers for Action, Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers, Dairy Farmers of Scotland, NFUS and the Farmers' Union of Wales have called for action to increase confidence among dairy farmers to stop the erosion of critical mass within the sector.

The industry-wide group says that everyone in the milk supply chain needs to make a fair profit and calls for retailers to stop gambling with security of milk supply. The letter asks for three commitments from the industry’s biggest customers:

_   Commitment to sourcing British dairy products.

_   Transparent and stable pricing mechanisms for liquid milk and cheese suppliers that offer producers a sustainable milk price.

_   Promotion of the Red Tractor on all own label, British dairy products.

The letter states: “Our message is very simple. If you want to guarantee a supply of quality British milk, cheese and dairy products you must take steps to secure it.”

Industry quotes:

NFU Dairy Board Chairman Gwyn Jones said:

“As British milk supply continues to fall, consumers are increasingly denied the opportunity of choice they deserve to purchase British dairy products; products which are produced to the highest welfare and environmental standards in the world.”

“Consumers are paying a fair price for British dairy products but that money is not distributed fairly down the supply chain. The difference between profit and loss for dairy farmers in this country is a small fraction of the overall margin on milk and dairy products, which could easily be afforded.”

Farmers For Action, Chairman David Handley said:

“In an unprecedented move by farmer organisations, this letter should leave no retailer or buyer in any doubt that we will no longer tolerate the current trend of low milk prices and the total imbalance of profits in the dairy chain.”

RABDF chairman, Lyndon Edwards said:

“British dairy farmers must receive a fair and sustainable price for their milk immediately; otherwise consumers will not have the option to buy fresh British milk in future.”

Dairy Farmers of Scotland Chairman, Iain Smith:

“Everyone involved should take this letter and its contents very seriously. Never before has there been such a level of discontent among dairy farmers –– not only in the UK –– but worldwide. UK milk buyers are only fooling themselves in using EU and world markets as benchmarks for prices if they are to expect a continued supply of milk.”

FUW Vice-President, Eifion Huws:

“The fact that our respective organisations have come together and issued this stark warning demonstrates the seriousness of the situation. We all know of the devastating consequences that have resulted from short-sighted decisions in the financial industry. We are calling on leaders in the dairy supply chain not to make similar mistakes that will have long term repercussions for British food and farming.”

Chairman, NFUS, Jimmy Mitchell:

“NFUS fully supports all producer organisations joining forces to promote the interests of all dairy farmers. We also believe strongly that the future of the British dairy industry depends on an effective supply chain which ensures fair returns for all parts of that chain. Only when this becomes a reality will producers have the confidence and enthusiasm to invest and reverse the decline in production.”

Farmers’ Union of Wales vice president Brian Walters today warned the general public not to be misled by a leaflet entitled "Stop the barbaric and senseless badger cull".

Responding angrily to the Badger Watch publication, Mr Walters, an organic farmer from West Wales, said: "The leaflet is so wildly inaccurate it begs the question that it is either drawn up by people incapable of understanding simple facts or it is deliberately dishonest."

Following numerous complaints about the leaflet - published by Badger Watch and Rescue Dyfed and widely circulated in the Dyfed area - the FUW has posted a three-page factsheet on its website highlighting why it believes claims made in the document are "untruthful".

"As far as I’m concerned, Badger Watch Dyfed should withdraw the leaflet and issue a public apology," said Mr Walters

"We all have the right to express our views, but to publish such statements in order to get the general public to lobby politicians is disgraceful and in my view highlights the depths to which some people will stoop to mislead public opinion."

The FUW’s factsheet, published in response to the leaflet campaign, claims that eight of the statements made in 10 "answers" to frequently asked questions are misleading.

Included among these are the claim that TB is spread almost exclusively from cattle to cattle, which the Advertising Standards Agency has already ruled breaches rules on "truthfulness" following a case brought by the FUW against the RSPCA more than three years ago.

The factsheet also highlights gross inaccuracies in the statistics used in the leaflet, stating that one figure quoted "is out by 500%".

"This is not the first time that an animal rights pressure group has been caught misleading the general public on the clear link between badgers, cattle and TB," said Mr Walters. "It is important that the general public scrutinise statements made by this type of organisation.

"Last year, Welsh families had to suffer the deaths of eight thousand cattle due to this disease epidemic, and it is high time that animal rights groups took their fair share of the responsibility.

"For years they have misled politicians and the general public into ignoring the epidemic in badgers, resulting in the death of tens of thousands of cattle, costing the taxpayer millions, and causing prolonged and agonising deaths for badgers.

"The majority of Welsh politicians from all parties have accepted the scientific evidence, and attempts to put the democratic process off course through campaigns of misinformation should be stamped out.

"To treat the general public with such contempt is frankly disgusting."

Welsh dairy farmers have told Conservative politicians the EU’s decision to scrap milk quotas by 2015 will have a destabilising effect on their sector of the industry.

Farmers’ Union of Wales leaders delivered the stark message when they met Assembly shadow rural affairs minister, North Wales AM Brynle Williams, and Welsh Conservative candidate for the European Elections Kay Swinburne on the dairy farm of union members Harry Williams and his son Robin at Cilcain, near Mold.

A number of important issues were raised affecting the current problems in the dairy industry and Dr Swinburne pledged that if elected on June 4 she would keep in regular contact with the FUW and its members to work for the benefit of Welsh agriculture.

Brynle Williams said Harry and Robin Williams had invested heavily in their farm over the past few years but the problems facing the dairy sector - decreasing farm gate prices and increasing production costs - were making it difficult for them to make a sensible return on their investment.

FUW milk and dairy committee chairman Eifion Huws reminded the gathering that the union’s president Gareth Vaughan had already called for a national debate on the impact abolishing milk quotas will have on the Welsh dairy sector.

Last November the 27 EU agriculture ministers agreed to lift quotas by one per cent per year before scrapping them altogether in 2014-2015.

"Mr Vaughan has also written to Assembly rural affairs minister Elin Jones informing her the issue has attracted growing attention on the Continent during recent months, and prompted significant debate at a meeting of the EU Council of Ministers," said Mr Huws.

"The FUW is well aware of growing concern amongst many farmers in Wales, and in other parts of the EU, that the full implications of the abandonment of the quota regime have not been properly recognised by the European Commission.

"Many believe that such a change would have a destabilising effect on an industry that is already suffering as a result of market volatility, and would have a particularly adverse impact for family farms.

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"With the recent volatility of milk prices, there is a real need for the Welsh Assembly Government to engage in further discussions on the impact that abolishing the quota regime will have for the Welsh dairy sector," added Mr Huws, who runs a dairy farm on Anglesey.

Welsh farmers' strong objections to EU plans to introduce electronic identification (EID) of sheep next year were hammered home in Brussels today by FUW deputy president Emyr Jones.Mr Jones and other representatives of Fairness for Farmers in Europe (FFE) outlined their strong objections to EID to the EU’s Directorate General for Health and Consumer Affairs (DG SANCO) which is responsible for introducing it on December 31 this year.

"We made it clear to Alberto Laddomada, DG SANCO’s Head of Unit for Animal Health, that there is now an almost unanimous acceptance across Europe that EID technology has serious problems associated with it in terms of implementing it on farms and in markets and slaughterhouses.

"I believe it is like forcing people to drive cars that have failed their MoTs. That is completely unacceptable when we are talking about animal health and welfare and disease control, not to mention the financial consequences of forcing people to use a costly technology that is not fit for purpose."

Mr Jones said recent statistics show sheep numbers in Wales fell by around 10 per cent between 2007 and 2008, while total EU sheep production fell by around 2.5 per cent during the same period.

"For many producers this regulation is likely to be the final straw, resulting in further reductions in flock sizes which in turn threatens the viability of the entire supply chain, especially in Wales," Mr Jones added.