increase font size
UK DAIRY farmers are unhappy with calls for controls of milk supplies in the EU beyond 2015.
The NFU wants CAP (common agricultural policy) reform negotiators to reject proposals from the European Parliament that would see a return to supply controls in the dairy sector once the existing quota system expires in 2015.
The proposal – supported by the European Parliament as part of the on-going CAP reform to maintain supply management in the dairy sector – requires the retention of the milk quota administrative framework, raising doubts about the EU commitment to the abolition of quotas in 2015.
The NFU says the system would, in the event of a severe crisis in the dairy market, grant aid to farmers who voluntarily cut production by at least 5%, compared with the same period the previous year, and would impose a levy on farmers who have increased their production.
NFU dairy board chairman Mansel Raymond says dairy farmers work with the knowledge that controls on how much milk they produce will end in 2015.
But there are some in Europe who would like the supply of milk within the EU to remain shackled through the back door, he adds.
“Dairy farmers face increasingly volatile market conditions and that’s why there is a need for the continuation of effective market safety nets within the CAP.
“But the existing tools, such as intervention, public storage and the direct payments made to dairy farmers, are sufficient and we strongly support their continuation. However, there should be no place in a modern market-orientated CAP for supply management measures that penalise farmers for increasing their production.
“Take a young farmer coming into the industry who has the means to invest and can seize the opportunities posed by the growing global demand for dairy products. Under the plans from the Parliament, that same young farmer could face crippling penalties purely because he grew his business and increased production, but was unfortunate enough to do so just as the global market was taking a downturn.
“It’s not right that they would see the milk price fall and receive penalties on top, when at the same time, farmers who had decreased their production would be granted an incentive payment. That’s simply not the right way to ensure a modern market-orientated dairy industry within the EU,” Raymond says.
Volatile input costs, fluctuating commodity prices, a reduction in direct payments and one of the wettest periods in decades that resulted in a disastrous harvest, have left their mark and many UK farming businesses worse off.
OPINION: The new Labour Government in the UK is facing the wrath of farmers. Last week thousands of farmers and their supporters converged in London protesting changes to inheritance tax for farmers announced in the Budget.
The Good Carbon Farm has partnered with Tolaga Bay Heritage Charitable Trust to deliver its first project in Tairāwhiti Gisborne.
Education union NZEI Te Riu Roa says that while educators will support the Government’s investment in learning support, they’re likely to be disappointed that it has been paid for by defunding expert teachers.
The Government says it is sharpening its focus and support for the food and fibre industry in Budget 2025.
A European Union regulation ensuring that the products its citizens consume do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation worldwide threatens $200m of New Zealand beef and leather exports.
A long-acting, controlled- release capsule designed to protect ewes from internal parasites during the lambing period is back on the market following a comprehensive reassessment.
Healthcare appears to be the big winner in this year's budget as agriculture and environment miss out.
OPINION: Last week's announcement of Prime Minister’s new Science and Technology Advisory Council hasn’t gone down too well in the…
OPINION: At its recent annual general meeting, Federated Farmers’ Auckland province called for New Zealand to withdraw from the Paris…
