A year after new milk contract regulations came into force, the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA) says awareness and trust across the sector are improving, but warns that understanding of its role — and of the regulations themselves — still needs to deepen.
The rules, introduced to stop unfair trading practices in the dairy supply chain, require written contracts, transparent pricing mechanisms and clear terms for variations and termination.
They apply across a sector that includes more than 7,500 UK dairy producers and underpins one of the country’s most valuable agricultural markets.
According to the ASCA’s first annual review, the new ‘in-confidence’ channel has already highlighted several issues that producers feel unable to raise openly, pointing to persistent concerns about confidentiality and fear of reprisal.
For some farmers, that fear remains a major barrier to making a complaint, and the report stresses that both the ASCA and the wider industry must do more to build confidence in the system.
With the regulations now applying to all existing contracts as well as new ones, the adjudicator expects a greater number of issues and formal complaints to be raised in the coming year.
While complaint data will be formally reported in next year’s review, the ASCA says it will also look for opportunities to share insights from cases in “new and innovative” ways.
The adjudicator plans to apply lessons from its first year as it expands its remit to cover the pigs sector, which came under its jurisdiction in August 2025. Officials say the aim is to continue strengthening trust, transparency and fairness across agricultural supply chains.
Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator Richard Thompson said: “Fair contracts help to create a farming sector that is more resilient and profitable. Farmers should always receive a fair, transparent price for their produce, underpinned by a clear, written contract. We’re committed to tackling contractual unfairness wherever it exists through our Fair Dealings Regulations.”
He added that the ASCA’s first year had been “all about new beginnings”, with a focus on delivering value by improving transparency and fairness in the milk sector — something he described as crucial at a time when “milk prices at the farmgate face downward pressure due to global oversupply of milk volumes”.
Thompson also expressed gratitude for the “time, patience and expertise” shared by industry partners as the new regulatory framework beds in.
The review notes that the ASCA team has spent the past 12 months engaging extensively with producers, processors, retailers and trade bodies across the UK in an effort to build visibility, trust and collaboration in the sector.
