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The incoming president of the UFU, Victor Chestnutt would like to see dairy pricing changed in NI so that farmers know what they get paid in advance.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal he said that the current system whereby suppliers get paid a number of weeks after they have produced the milk adds to the belief that farmers are at the bottom of the supply chain.
“The system has to change. If there is pressure on prices it should be shared up and down the chain. At the minute farmers are the last to receive their share.
“If we knew the price in advance [as happens in Britain], farmers could tweak their system, whether it is feeding a bit less meal or drying off cows early” he said.
Chestnutt is hopeful that changing how NI farmers ar paid might be an outcome from the Defra consultation on compulsory milk contracts, which is currently open up to midnight on 15 September 2020.
It seeks views on whether government should legislate for the introduction of mandatory written contracts between producers and purchasers of milk.
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