Stronger voice for milk producers
24 May 2000
Stronger voice for milk producers
By Robert Harris
MILK producers will have a more powerful voice in the industry following the launch this week of a new representative umbrella group.
The Federation of Milk Groups (FMG) has been created by reorganising the UK Federation of Milk Producer Organisations (UKFMPO).
The UK Federation was set up at deregulation to represent only quota-holding milk groups.
The main difference is that the new body is inviting non-quota holding farmer groups, whose members usually supply dairies direct and have no representative body, to join its ranks.
“In this very difficult financial climate, I believe this move will give a real opportunity for the many milk groups to come together to provide industry leadership and meaningful involvement in creating change,” says chairman John Duncan.
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“The work of the UKFMPO has give us an excellent foundation. With wider input we shall be in an excellent position to build on this.
The FMG already represents over half of UK farmers through its member groups, which include the Milk Marque triplets; Scottish Milk; Southern Milk; the Milk Group; and United Dairy Farmers.
The hope is to expand that significantly, and could include the recently launched Federation of Milk Producers, which aims to recruit 20,000 individual producers to create a powerful lobbying force.