The collapse of Dairy Farmers of Britain is sad news indeed, but has been on the cards for a long time.
Farmers Weekly flagged it up in early-November - but the company's management insisted then it was "business as usual" and DFB would hit its targets.
This was followed by news of a 2p/litre retrospective price cut at the end of November, the resignation of the then chairman and the announcement of a radical restructuring plan. This set alarm bells ringing once more.
Another price cut followed in February, then the announcement that DFB had appointed PriceWaterhouseCoopers to find a new owner, then a rejection by members of a refinancing plan to convert their loanstock into shares. More alarm bells.
Finally, in late April, former chief executive Andrew Cooksey stood down, but only after another 2.2p/litre price cut to members. It also emerged that DFB had lost its contract to supply liquid milk to The Co-Op.......
Against this potted history, the appointment of PriceWaterhouseCoopers as official receivers on Wednesday (3 June) came as little surprise.
But the timing seems incredibly cynical. By waiting until after 1 June, the "deal" between the banks, the company and the receiver means that the 1800 or so dairy farmers supplying DFB have lost an entire month's milk payment.
This is estimated at about £14,000 per farmer, on top of the £25,000 average capital that has also gone down the plughole.
The banks will get their money, but for many farmers it will mean financial collapse. Some face losses running into the hundreds of thousands of pounds.
It seems harsh to say, but things could actually have been worse. In particular, the banks could have delayed for another fortnight before appointing the receivers, getting a total of six weeks' milk income instead of four.
Also, the receiver could have insisted that DFB members honour their contracts and continue to deliver milk to the co-op. But PWC has at least said farmers are free to sell their milk to other suppliers if they so wish - although under the circumstances it would have been almost impossible to tie them to the contract if they had wanted to.
What happens next remains to be seen. Some producers will no doubt find alternative outlets fairly quickly. Others will take up the new DFB contract for whatever it pays and for as long as it lasts. Others in more outlying regions will quit milk production altogether.
But the fact is, everyone caught up in this sorry saga is going to feel the pain for some time.
It is therefore incumbent upon the banks to show the same degree of leniency to farmers in financial difficulty as the government has shown them during the credit crunch.
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"It is therefore incumbent upon the banks to show the same degree of leniency to farmers in financial difficulty as the government has shown to
them during the credit crunch."
The bank in this case is HSBC, which has not had any support from the government!
aye, on top of losing a months milk payment and the money invested in DFB we have also been supplying them with milk for not much more than it cost us to produce it. This is the reward for staying loyal. The original bosses have a lot to answer for, bad advice, bad investments and too high a wage packet for the fat cats. DFB has been run by plonkers basically, and the latest team had nothing left to work with. It is a symbol of all that is wrong these days, the men at the top get too much and the ones actually doing the work get too little. Eventually something gives, but the fat cats and their handshakes are miles away now. Sad times for the industry, but the cows still have to be milked and the farmers are tough, they will survive if at all possible. Time indeed for everyone to think about their food, and if they want fresh UK milk they have to be prepared to pay a fair price. We have been getting 17.5p a litre off DFB. Other suppliers pay over 20p. Beer costs over £2 a pint. What has gone wrong?