DAIRY farmers on the isle of Bute have claimed desperately low milk prices could spell disaster for the island's community.

Milk prices have dropped considerably over the last year, falling from 32p per litre to just under 20p for Bute's 13 farmers, many of whom could be facing closure if the downturn continues.

The farmers are already subject to increased production costs due to their remote location and claim this, combined with the low prices offered by co-operative First Milk - the island's only buyer - are placing them in a "dire situation".

With many islanders relying on the dairy industry to make a living, Aleck Nairn, the National Farmers Union representative on Bute, claims the decline of the industry is a major concern.

He said: "The price we're getting doesn't cover our production costs. If this goes on for the next two or three months, there are going to be some guys who will bail out.

"The dairy industry in Bute is a massive part of the community, the amount of people who make a living off of the dairy is quite considerable.

"If it goes, it will be a major blow to the island."

He added that it is still unclear whether or not the price has "bottomed out", saying: "It's really just a guessing game, we've just got to hope that it doesn't go down any more."

The islanders have no choice but to use First Milk as their buyer as other dairy firms will not buy from more remote areas, focussing instead on the mainland.

This forces the farmers to accept First Milk's pay and conditions - including a 2p charge on every litre of milk, described by co-operative as a "capital contribution".

On top of the low prices, which have been linked to a Russian ban on Western products and a decline in the Chinese market, they have also had to face a delay to their payments.

Farmer James McAlister, of Bruchag Farm, said: "I'm getting around 20p per litre when this time last year I was getting around 32p - what a difference.

"What it's at now - how are we supposed to live on that? We're making no profit on that.

"I think there will be a few people on the island who'll decide to shut down as a result of this. I would get out in a minute if I could."

Robert MacIntyre, of Kerry Croy Farm, also questioned First Milk over the lower payments and claimed the island's farmers stand to lose out on a combined total of £2 million this year if the price remains as it is, based on the outputs last year.

Mr MacIntyre said: "It's a very worrying time for us. It's frightening.

"It's been death by a thousand cuts. We've had a cut every month since June, apart from July, and we're sitting here in Bute with a very difficult year ahead of us if something doesn't happen with these prices."

He added: "We've already got extra costs because for every tonne of feed we buy it costs £25 for haulage, so if you order 20 tonnes to feed, that's an extra £500 we have to pay.

"Also, if you're sending cattle to market, it costs at least £20 a head to get them there.

"And if you've got to call out an engineer because there's a breakdown in the milking parlour, you have to pay his extra transport costs and for the time it takes to get here.

"It all adds up"

First Milk said they pay out the returns they receive from the marketplace, which are different from other firms, resulting in the different prices.

Chairman Jim Paice added: "We are a business owned by dairy farmers. The Board are acutely aware of the difficulties this current extreme volatility is causing First Milk members and the UK dairy industry.

"Our priority is to make the business and our processing assets as secure as possible in order that we can continue to process and market every litre of our members' milk."