Eustice argued that supplier contracts with pricing mechanisms would also benefit processors.\ Donal O'Leary
ADVERTISEMENT
Legislation should be brought forward which makes it compulsory for dairy processors to have written contracts with farmer suppliers, a senior government minister has said.
“If you are going to ask farmers to commit to quite a long-term contract, they deserve to know how the milk price will be calculated. For too long, it has been too easy to just dump liability on the farmer when things are going wrong,” Defra Secretary George Eustice said.
Speaking at the Conservative Party conference, Eustice argued that supplier contracts with pricing mechanisms would help processors when they are selling products.
ADVERTISEMENT
“If they get more clarity about what they are going to need to pay their farmers then they will hedge their own risk in the market. They can do that, they just have been too lazy to do it to date because it’s been far easier to just drop the cost on to farmers,” the Conservative MP said.
A public consultation on mandatory milk contracts closed to responses last month.
Register for free to read this story and our free stories.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
Legislation should be brought forward which makes it compulsory for dairy processors to have written contracts with farmer suppliers, a senior government minister has said.
“If you are going to ask farmers to commit to quite a long-term contract, they deserve to know how the milk price will be calculated. For too long, it has been too easy to just dump liability on the farmer when things are going wrong,” Defra Secretary George Eustice said.
Speaking at the Conservative Party conference, Eustice argued that supplier contracts with pricing mechanisms would help processors when they are selling products.
“If they get more clarity about what they are going to need to pay their farmers then they will hedge their own risk in the market. They can do that, they just have been too lazy to do it to date because it’s been far easier to just drop the cost on to farmers,” the Conservative MP said.
A public consultation on mandatory milk contracts closed to responses last month.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address. Please click on the link in this email to reset your password. If you can't find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you can't find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
SHARING OPTIONS