Dairy farmers 'increasingly concerned' about Brexit impact on foreign labour

The Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) said it had become 'increasingly concerned' about the effects of Brexit
The Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) said it had become 'increasingly concerned' about the effects of Brexit

Dairy farmers are being urged to complete a survey which aims to analyse foreign labour's impact on the sector.

The Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) said it had become 'increasingly concerned' about the effects of Brexit and what it means for migrant labour on UK farms.

"As a follow up to our survey two years ago, we hope to identify if there are any potential problems," RABDF said.

They said the survey also set out to identify where dairy farming needs support from government to maintain its migrant-labour workforce.

RABDF chairman Mike King said: "Two years ago, we carried out the first migrant survey in the dairy sector and found that one third of dairy farmers had employed foreign labour.

"We are revisiting their current contribution and in addition, aiming to identify if there are any potential issues.

"The survey has also been designed to determine where dairy farming needs Government to support to maintain its non-UK citizen labour workforce."

The survey asks if the dairy farmer has had recent problems hiring staff, or whether if they had sought overseas workers in a skilled or unskilled capacity.

RABDF's 2014 independent farmer survey concluded that migrant workers were making a significant contribution to the dairy sector with one third of producers having employed foreign labour with the majority agreeing they had been a very successful option.

At the time, the Association expressed concern over their future in terms of training and sourcing, together with the on-going issues of intra-community flow of EU residents and the UK remaining within the EU.