Wyke Farms has increased the price it pays farmers for milk by 5ppl and issued a stark warning to the rest of the industry that if they fail to follow suit the UK could be facing milk shortages this winter.

Wyke, the UK’s largest independent cheese and milk processor, is the first major dairy to confirm what farmers have been insisting – that if the price for milk does not rise, supplies will be hit.

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According to Wyke MD Richard Clothier, milk supplies could drop in the next six months if action is not taken. Poor weather conditions have put pressure on forage crops and many farmers will struggle to feed their cows over the winter as a result, Collier said.

Following a series of price cuts from the UK’s largest dairy processors – Arla Foods, Dairy Crest and Robert Wiseman – dairy farming organisations have united in a coalition to demand the reversal of these price redutions. Currently, farmers are insisting that the farmgate milk price fails to cover the cost of production. As a consequence, many farmers are warning that their businesses have become unsustainable and that they will be forced out of business.

Click here for just-food’s interview with Wyke MD Richard Clothier

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