BBC TV programme highlights SOS Dairy fight
The fight for better farmgate milk prices will be highlighted by BBC television on Monday (25 February).
The BBC’s Inside Out programme visits Cowes on the Isle of Wight to see if the farming co-op, the first of its kind, could work in the West Midlands.
Film-makers follow Andrew Porteous, a farmer from Staffordshire, who believes the milk processor he sells to is not getting a good enough price from the supermarkets.
Mr Porteous visits the Isle of Wight to see if farmers working together – and making allies with the dairy – really works.
The programme comes as dairy farmers are being urged to stick together ahead of a crucial few weeks in the fight for a fairer deal on milk contracts and prices.
Milk buyers have been given until 31 March to implement a voluntary code of practice overseeing the relationship between processors and farmers.
But many producers remain locked into contracts, even though the code is meant to make it easier for farmers to sell their milk elsewhere if they feel they can get a better deal.
The dairy coalition – a group of bodies including the NFU and Farmers For Action – continue to press for fairer contracts and prices, said Mr Handley.
A repeat of last summer’s SOS Dairy milk price protests is possible but is seen only as a last resort should processors refuse to implement the code.
The BBC Inside Out (West Midlands) programme is on Monday 25 February at 7.30pm, on BBC One (West Midlands).
Other BBC regions have their own Inside Out variants but the West Midlands programme will be available UK-wide on BBC iPlayer for seven days following the broadcast.
News on the SOS Dairy campaign