Dairy Event 2010: Few opportunities for new entrants

The number of opportunities for new entrants wanting to come into the dairy sector is at an all-time low, the Tenant Farmers Association has warned.

The TFA used the opening day of this year’s Dairy Event and Livestock Show to emphasise the importance of agricultural tenancies to the future success of the dairy industry.

TFA national vice-chairman Stephen Wyrill said there was much talk about super-dairies, but the industry needed to be diverse to succeed.

“Our national milk production is in decline and we cannot rely solely on so-called ‘mega-dairies’ to pull us out of the mire,” he said. 

“We need diversity in the production base to ensure that we maintain a reliable and secure supply of milk and milk products into the future. To do this we need new entrants and to have new entrants we need opportunities.”

Mr Wyrill said the dairy sector had traditionally provided a good opportunity for new entrants to enter the industry. 

With a regular income from the milk cheque, new entrants were able to service their borrowing requirements and provide a reasonable income for themselves, he said.

However, successive milk price cuts, increases in production and regulatory compliance costs and a lack of landlords’ investment meant the number of new entrants had diminished.

“Even for those keen to get a start, the number of opportunities available is also at an all-time low,” he said. 

“It doesn’t help that some County Council landlords, which have traditionally provided opportunities for new entrants, are either requiring the farms not to be used for dairying or are looking to sell them altogether.  The recent decision of Somerset County Council to sell two thirds of its holdings is a major blow to the dairy industry in that strongly agricultural county.”

The association is calling for agricultural tenancies which are sufficiently long and flexible to give new entrants the confidence to enter the sector.

* For more from the show see our dedicated Dairy Event and Livestock Show page.