Milk protest farmers told: You produce too much

Published on Saturday 25 June 2005 00:13

ANGRY dairy farmers crowding a milk processor's stand at the Highland show yesterday to protest about low prices were told it was their own fault for producing too much.

But that uncompromising advice did not come from price-cutting Arla Foods and its milk buyer, Peter Walker.

It came from entrepreneurial Sorn Milk boss David Shaw, who has a contract to supply Arla with more than 70 million litres a year from his 50 members.

When the protesters arrived in a well-flagged move, Walker agreed to talk to their spokesman, John Cumming, in private about Arla's apparently irrevocable intention to cut its farmgate price by 0.35 per litre.

That left Shaw, a 100-cow dairy farmer, Ferrari-driving advocate of a free market and critic of farmers producing too much then complaining about low prices, to face several dozen protesters.

As exchanges became more robust, Shaw told them: "I'm as unhappy as you about a price cut although we're not in a strong position to resist. But this autumn we might be - and see a lot more than 0.35p re-instated. We have to get supply in line with demand."

He did not convince many in the crowd and as the shouting got louder about the future of dairy farmers and their families - an estimated 700 have already gone in the past five years - Shaw, in a phrase that he might now regret, said it would help his business if more farmers quit: "It would be music to my ears if more dairy farmers went out of business and I don't care who that annoys."

He insisted that farmers must face the truths of a free market, work together and cut production.

Asked to define "a fair market price", he said: "The market price for milk is what you get that day. It is no different from any other product."

Protesters disagreed. Cumming, from Stranraer, an organiser for Farmers for Action, told Arla milk buyer Walker when he reached the stand: "This is a clear message to you that what you are doing is disgraceful. For five years, price cuts for milk have been led by Arla. If this cut goes ahead, we will stop Arla's supplies."

Alan Hutton, of Ayrshire, accused Arla of securing a cut-price deal to supply Morrisons supermarkets then cutting farmers' prices to cover it.

Walker, quietly spoken but firm, said that was not true. He also insisted that Arla had held prices longer than others and was investing more in Scotland. But the price cut will take place.

The fear now is that other big processors must cut the farmgate price to compete for supermarket business and John Kinnaird, NFU Scotland president, said Arla had no excuse.

"Production has fallen, demand is increasing, the cheese price is firmer - all the market signals are for a price increase to suppliers.

"Instead Arla make a price cut. It's bizarre - and indefensible."

• Friday was chosen for the protest because that is dairy cattle judging day.

In the rings, where passions were slightly less inflamed, a strong Holstein section was led by Robert Steel of Kepculloch, showing at the Highland for only the second time, David Howie and his son Michael from Northumberland won the Ayrshire championship with Morwick Fawn, and Shiela Fleming and Thomas Savage, Cumbria, took the Jersey title.