Wyke Farms' suppliers given fixed milk price option

Farmers who supply Wyke Farms will be able to fix their milk price for three years
Farmers who supply Wyke Farms will be able to fix their milk price for three years

Wyke Farms' farmer suppliers will be able to fix their milk price for the next three years from January 2020 as part of a deal with Lidl.

The cheese producer, based in Somerset, agreed a long-term supply deal with the retailer last year.

Now a new deal has been secured which gives the option to Wyke's 130 farmer suppliers to fix between 10% and 50% of their volumes at 28p per litre from 1 January.

The dairy firm's managing director, Rich Clothier, told The Grocer that the deal would soothe volatility in what could be an 'uncertain next three years'.

He told the website: “We’re living in a more volatile world, with tit-for-tat trade disputes and ongoing uncertainty over Brexit, currency volatility and future trade deals.

“So we’ve been working with our customers to try and offer farmers a bit of long-term security.

“28 pence per litre is a fair price, and allows farmers to plan for the future of their business and reinvest.”

It follows a similar move by dairy processor Muller, who announced a long-term partnership with Lidl last year.

At the time, Muller said locking a portion of farmers' milk supply at a fixed price would 'significantly lower' exposure to milk price volatility.