By Caroline Spelman
Few of us could imagine the British countryside or
British farming without cows grazing in our fields. But those cows, and
the farmers who devote their lives to the dairy industry, are under threat.
Dairy is our biggest, most iconic farming sector, and recent farm-gate
cuts of the price of milk have been a severe blow for thousands of people,
putting the future of the entire industry at risk.
The status quo just isn’t working. If things
don’t change, the industry could end up being a shadow of its current self. But
I am convinced that if we get things right, there are so many opportunities, at
home and abroad, for it to prosper.
The Government cannot and should not set
prices. It’s illegal and wouldn’t guarantee our industry a long-term future —
quite the opposite. But we are pushing hard for real changes to be made at all
levels of the supply chain so the industry can get back on its feet and
prosper. A year ago, Jim Paice, the Minister for Agriculture, urged
representatives of farmers and milk processors to agree a strong industry code
of practice on contractual relationships.
It would cover issues such as the way price
is worked out, notice periods, contract lengths, volume and exclusivity rights.
This would increase trust and transparency and give farmers a fairer deal. Over
the past two weeks we’ve stepped up meetings with both sides, and we are a
whisker away from an agreement. It is urgent that we break the deadlock.
That’s why we’ve brought forward the meeting
scheduled for tomorrow with all the main players to today, at the Royal Welsh
Show, to broker a deal.
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