Somerset MP Warns of 'Dropping Like a Stone' Milk Prices

An "unprecedented" oversupply of milk is driving prices down for dairy farmers in the West, making "life very difficult". Major dairy buyers like Arla and Muller have now cut the amount they pay farmers to around 35p per litre. The average price this time last year was 46p. Chair of Somerset's NFU Mark Humphreys, a dairy farmer himself, said: "We had a very severe draught, it's made life very difficult for us. We're now going into a situation where a lot of exports are coming to this country, competing with our milk price. It's well below our cost of production." A spokesperson for Arla has said the milk production volume has increased so there is "significantly more milk around the world". Glastonbury and Somerton MP and farmer Sarah Dyke is currently trying to get her Dairy Farming and Dairy Products bill through parliament. The aim is to protect farmers further from these kind of price fluctuations. "The farm gate price of milk is dropping like a stone. This is a bill ensuring fairness for our farmers," Dyke said. "There is so much pressure in the market at the moment as the UK is competing against imports from New Zealand and the US." Humphreys added: "Not all farmers were in favour of leaving the EU. We lost the support other European farmers have had. Perhaps we're still in that transitional phase."