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Dairy agrimoney forms sent out

- 26 September 2000
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26 September 2000



Dairy agrimoney forms sent out

By Philip Clarke

FORMS for claiming agrimonetary compensation should arrive through diary producers letterboxes this week, with the Intervention Board promising a prompt turnaround.

The 0.156ppl payment agreed at the Prime Ministers agriculture summit last spring will be based on quota held , including any leased-in quota.

This is to ensure that non-producing quota holders do not get the money.

For a producer with 100 cows averaging 6000 litres, the compensation will be worth about 900, helping to offset some of the reduction in dairy prices.

Combined with a recent 10 million payout by the Residuary Milk Marketing Board (worth about 350 a producer), and 15m from Milk Marque, it will provide a useful top-up to cashflow as producers wait to see better returns for milk.

The National Farmers Union has expressed anger that it has taken so long to get the cash, blaming Intervention Board computer glitches and printing problems.

“We have worked hard to win this money,” said milk committee chairman Terrig Morgan.

“It is unacceptable that farmers have had to wait so long.”

In total 22m is being paid to compensate for the slump in intervention prices last milk year, with the possibility of more to come in the next two years.

“We will be pushing hard for this,” said NFU milk assistant Tom Hind.

Scottish NFU president Jim Walker urged producers to use the money wisely and not rush out to buy more milk quota, causing that market to overheat.

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