The Tenant Farmers Association has expressed support for the criticism being levelled against Arla for reducing its June milk price by 0.35p per litre.
TFA national chairman Reg Haydon said: "We stand by our colleagues in the National Farmers Union and Farmers For Action in declaring this price reduction unjustified, unnecessary and short-sighted. The company must think again."
"With the decoupling of price support and the increased regulatory burden, the confidence of many dairy farmers remains low. If we are going to have a vibrant industry going forward, it is essential that producers receive a reasonable price. Should Arla's price cuts ripple out to others processors, that confidence will be knocked further. Arla and other processors may find it very difficult to meet contracts of supply with the major retailers.
"Arla should be using its market position to be more aggressive in developing its returns for the benefit of itself and the farmers who supply it. Arla should be working hard to protect its base of farmer suppliers or risk seeing it significantly diminish."
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