Speaking on the eve of the Dairy Show, which is being held on 6 October at the Bath & West Showground, Andrew Branton, who is chair of the South West NFU’s regional dairy board, said that despite the difficulties they currently faced, farmers should be encouraged by the popularity of the food they were producing.
“As you go through the day-to-day routine of looking after your cows, picking your way through all the rules, schemes and regulations, planning for staff issues and worrying about feed and fertiliser prices it is sometimes hard to see that there is an increasing demand for dairy,” he said.
“We need to work together as farmers, processors and retailers to smooth out the many bumps and shocks in the supply chain. Transparency and trust in contract relationships will be the key to success.”
The NFU launched a dairy export strategy in September, with the aim of doubling the value of British dairy exports – currently about £1.6bn – over the next 10 years.
The strategy calls on the dairy sector to collaborate on a new strategy to grow dairy exports, and for increased Government investment into driving exports through trade deals, agriculture counsellors and market development.
Mr Branton backed this call up, saying the export process had to become more straightforward.
“A better plan for exports needs to be found, so we don’t see valuable product going to waste because the paperwork doesn't quite match. We need input and support from government on this if we are to achieve the Brexit ideal of becoming a major food exporter,” he said.
With COP26 on the horizon, environmental issues are sure to be a talking point at the show and Mr Branton said dairy farmers needed to be prepared to defend their industry’s track record against the misleading information which often appeared in the media.
“We are sometimes painted as being the villain when it comes to climate change, when dairy farmers work very hard to reduce their impact on the environment.
“Part of that story will be pointing out the increasing recognition of climate models which take into account the huge amounts of carbon absorbed by the grass which dairy farmers grow – often on land unsuitable for growing anything else – and improvements in efficiency.”