Referendum for milk advertising

12 July 1999

Referendum for milk advertising

By FWi staff

DAIRY farmers are to be polled to see whether they support plans to collect a statutory levy to fund a generic milk advertising campaign.

The poll will ask whether farmers would back plans for the Milk Development Council to collect a statutory levy from milk producers for promotional purposes.

Letters to farmers will be sent out in September although there will need to be a change in the legislation before any levy could be collected.

Philip Hudson, the National Farmers Union dairy advisor, said the union was very pleased with the news.

“This is something we have been working towards and I hope the industry can work together to take this forward,” he said.

If farmers vote in favour of a referendum, an order could be laid in Parliament by next April, said Mr Hudson.

Nick Brown announced the referendum in a parliamentary debate last week.

“I am strongly of the view that the most important factors in this consideration are the views of dairy farmers,” he told MPs.