RABDF urges banks to be lenient with dairy farmers

The Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers has expressed full sympathy to Dairy Farmers of Britain’s 1,800 producers following the co-op’s announcement yesterday, 3 June, to call in a receiver, Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

RABDF chairman, Lyndon Edwards said: "The loss of last month’s milk cheque coupled with their entire investment in the co-op is a massive financial blow to every individual concerned. Furthermore, DFB made in quite clear in its statement that there is no guarantee all future milk supplies will be collected and distributed.

"We are urging the receiver to clarify the situation to all producers as soon as possible. We are encouraging other co-ops and alternative milk purchasers to take on DFB members’ milk in order to fulfill their future demands and ensure we do not see a sharp fall in milk supply. For those farmers operating in regions where there are few alternative buyers, we suggest that they should collaborate to either allow a milk brokerage to come out of DFB, or find an alternative buyer themselves.

"We are also encouraging banks to be lenient on DFB members at this difficult time to ensure no further decline in farm numbers." He adds: "We trust that that we will soon be able to draw a line under the situation and allow farmers to move forwards with the security of knowing they have a home for their milk."