English dairy farmers will be able to access funding of up to £10,000 each for losses sustained as a result of the pandemic in April and May this year.

Social media sites had previously shown some UK farmers dumping milk and the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in England said that dairy farmers produced 40m litres of milk every day and had seen a marked decrease in demand for their products due to the closure of bars, restaurants and cafés.

“Eligible dairy farmers will be entitled to up to £10,000 each, to cover 70% of their lost income during April and May to ensure they can continue to operate and sustain production capacity without impacts on animal welfare,” Defra said.

Northern Ireland

The same scheme is not available in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Minister for Agriculture there, Edwin Poots, said this was due to the difference between the destination of NI and English milk.

“This scheme addresses demand problems that materialised very quickly in April for a small number of farmers in England, who supplied food service and hospitality outlets,” Poots said.

“The issues faced by our local farmers are different due to our exposure to international markets and downturn in global economic activity.

“The impact for our dairy farmers may become evident more slowly, last longer and be more widespread, and on that basis, we are considering a different approach to address our particular circumstances.”

Poots said he had asked the UK Secretary for State in charge of agriculture, George Eustice MP, to consider what enhanced funding the UK Government could provide to NI.

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