Dairy coalition set to name and shame buyers
Milk buyers who fail to comply with the dairy industry voluntary code of practice will be named and shamed from 1 April, farming leaders have warned. Although an estimated 85% of total liquid milk volume are now covered by the code, there are still a handful of non-compliant companies the dairy coalition has vowed to push for commitment. NFU Scotland milk policy manager George Jamieson said: “This is an important stage for the code, and we are keen that we get implementation right, avoid confusion about any detail and misinterpretation of the code.” The NFU’s chief dairy adviser Rob Newbery added that the coalition would be drawing up a hit-list of those who hadn’t committed to the code and naming and shaming them to their farmer suppliers and customers. They would also be checking that companies that had signed up were adhering to all aspects of the code. “It’s a crunch period,” said Mr Newbery. “When it comes to legislation never say never. If the code fails 12 months down the line, then legislation is back on the table.” Dairy UK, NFU and NFU Scotland will be meeting in May or June to take stock of the code and assess how well it had been implemented. Thereafter, a final review of the code is expected to take place in the final quarter of the year or early in 2014. Meanwhile Dairy UK director general Jim Begg hailed the code as a great success but he admitted, that without universal adoption, the alternative could be legislation.
Calls for urgent price rise
The dairy coalition has called on processors to implement “urgent and meaningful” farmgate milk price rises from 1 April.
In a meeting on Wednesday this week (20 March), the coalition said UK milk prices needed to reflect a jump in global commodity prices after the latest Fonterra sale saw prices jump 14.8% on the previous fortnight.
Farmers for Action chairman David Handley said: “I’m hugely frustrated by the apparent lack of traction in the UK market. We need action by milk buyers now.” The coalition also called for complete transparency in country of origin labelling of dairy products. Imported cheddar, without clear labelling was undercutting British prices, they warned.
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