The dairy company and representatives of the farmers who supply it have reached agreement on an initiative that will determine how farm-gate milk should be valued by the company in future.
The move follows talks over the last fortnight between the Robert Wiseman Dairies and the board of the Wiseman Milk Partnership (WMP). About 1,000 farmers who supply Wiseman with milk belong to WMP, and its board is elected from within the membership.
Work will start this week on developing the ‘Wisemilk initiative’, using the national voluntary code of practice as a framework. The outline for the code of practice was agreed after crisis talks between representatives of the milk processors and farmers nationally, after which all the major milk processors backed down on plans for milk price cuts.
Transparency
Four farmer representatives from WMP will work with directors from Robert Wiseman Dairies on the Wisemilk initiative. A spokesman said a particular focus would be placed on finding ways to deliver transparency in how farm gate milk prices are determined so that farmers could plan more effectively.
He said the Wisemilk initiative team would be able to call on independent experts during the course of the work, which is expected to take a minimum of three months to complete. The first meetings are scheduled to take place this week.
Partnership
Pete Nicholson, milk procurement director at Robert Wiseman Dairies, said: “We cannot ignore the ups and downs of a market, but we have to strengthen the basis of the partnership we have with dairy farmers who supply us.
“There is a shared belief that steps can be taken to remove the tensions and lack of clarity that exists in the supply chain at the moment. It’s time to start the process of rebuilding trust and we will work diligently and constructively in order to achieve this end.”
Farmer Roddy Catto, who is chairman of the WMP, said: “We welcome and support this initiative, which we hope will be the first step towards greater levels of transparency and honesty in the milk price setting process. There is a lot of work to do if dairy farmers are to have the basis from which they can move forward, invest and see a future in dairying.
"Confidence has been badly shaken and there remains a great deal of anger among dairy producers who rightly feel they are being asked to do the impossible – produce milk for a market that, right now, is not returning enough to cover costs.”