Ministers decide on Dairy Premium additional payment

Ministers across the UK have agreed on how dairy farmers will get a top-up payment this year to help offset the effects on milk producers of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms.

Last year's agreement on CAP reform contained several specific measures for the dairy sector, including cuts in price support from 2004.

European Union rules allow for a Dairy Premium to be paid to milk producers starting in 2004, and for Member States to make additional payments to milk producers based on objective criteria.

After consulting the industry, Ministers in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have agreed that an Additional Payment for dairy farmers should be paid as a straightforward top-up to the Dairy Premium in 2004.

Larry Whitty, Food and Farming Minister, said:

"The preference of a clear majority of dairy farmers across the UK was that we should make the additional payment on the same basis as the dairy premium."

"We considered carefully the alternatives suggested, taking into account the government's wider objectives for farming, the decisions already made on implementing CAP reform, issues of equity and fairness, and our aim to simplify CAP payments."