Scotland's Dairy Sector Hit as Processor Cuts Milk Price Again
THE Scottish dairy sector is reeling after the announcement that milk processor Robert Wiseman Dairies is to slash the price paid to its farmer suppliers for the second time in three months.
Wiseman, taken over by European dairy giant Muller in January of this year, cut the price it paid to its farmers by 2p per litre (ppl) in June and is following that up with a further 1.7p cut from August 1. The company blamed the move on a collapse in the value of cream over the past year.
Taken together, these two cuts represent 15% and will take the price of a standard litre down to 24.73ppl.
For an average Wiseman supplier, producing around 1.4 million litres of milk a year, these cuts equate to a potential reduction in annual income from milk sales of more than £50,000.
Meanwhile, an EU seminar held in Brussels on Thursday has outlined how reform of the Common AgriculturalPolicy (CAP) and the switch to area-based payments has the potential to generate significant redistribution across all farming sectors.
NFU Scotland s Combinable Crops committee chairman, Andrew Moir, who attended the meeting, said: We recognise that the way in which the Single Farm Payment (SFP) is paid out to farmers in Scotland has to change.
The reality is that Scotland will have to move from an individual, historic reference-based support system to an area-based system, but that shift must be manageable.
The experiences shared by other member states who have gone down the area-based route already shows that the system must be managed if we are to avoid significant transfers of support from the most productive areas to the least productive farmers.
The CAP Reform proposals, as they stand, would require Scotland to move from an area-based system in five years with much of that move front loaded in year one.
It is clear from discussions today that such a time frame for change is inappropriate and has the potential to be hugely damaging and disruptive .
Market round-up
Messrs Craig Wilson Ltd sold 171 store bullocks (including 30 B&Ws) at Ayr on Thursday to a top of £1230 per head and 262.1p per kg to average £851.87 or 205.7p, while 52 store heifers peaked at £1180 and 242.2p and levelled at £904.04 or 210.6p.
United Auctions sold 1067 prime lambs at Stirling on Thursday to a top of £101.50 and 216p to average 190.2p (-14.9p on the week).
The Cumberland and Dumfriesshire Farmers Mart sold 1695 prime lambs in Longtown on Thursday to a top of £98.80 and 221p to average 189.5p.
There were also 4097 cast sheep forward with heavy ewes selling to £143.50 for Texels and averaging £87.73, while light ewes peaked at £89.50 for Cheviots and levelled at £59.40. Cast rams sold to £156.50 for Suffolks and averaged £112.52.
