Scottish dairy farmers are uniting in their scores behind new milk pressure group, Dairy Farmers of Scotland, which aims to secure a price increase of 4p/litre over current ex-farm prices.
Letters calling for producers' support have in the past week gone to 1400 dairy farmers in Scotland. Producers as far afield as Nairn and Dumfries have also been asked to complete an accompanying questionnaire asking if they are willing to send notification letters, followed by invoices for an additional 4p/litre, to their milk buyers.
DFS spokesman John Watson said they have already had a flood of support. But a positive response rate of 80% to the invoice question would be required before mass invoicing is progressed.
The DFS, which has taken legal advice on the planned action, will announce the results of the survey at AgriScot on 15 November.
Mr Watson, who milks 170 cows at High Mart Farm, Stranraer, said the new body has the support of both NFU Scotland and Farmers For Action. For the first time, he said, a mass group of farmers supplying all the major milk companies were 100% agreed on the course of action.
Increased costs
He said that, with feed costs up by £18/t year on year, and increased fuel and electricity costs, producers were now pulling back production so processors and supermarkets were "playing a very dangerous game".
"I don't believe consumers here want their milk to be carted hundreds of miles from the other end of the country, or brought in from Poland or the Czech Republic. They want milk produced locally in Scotland.
"At the moment, 3.5 producers a day are leaving the UK industry. In my area alone two dairy farmers are getting out this week. Three weeks ago there were another three.
"These are not small herds. They are producers with 200 cows, and these farmers are in their forties, not their sixties. Even farmers who have invested in the past five years and had been determined to keep going are reaching the point of no return."
- Copies of the letter and questionnaire are available at www.dfos.co.uk