MORE than 700 of Scotland's dairy farmers received a milk price of under 25p per litre last year - and as a result are sharing in an emergency EU payment totalling £2.4 million, which the Scottish Government is right now channelling into their bank accounts.
The exceptional funding, which is being issued well in advance of the September 30 deadline set for its distribution by the European Commission, is being allocated against a scale that favours the producers hardest hit by the recent milk market slump.
Under the scheme the highest payment rate of £5000 per farm goes to producers on Bute, Arran, Mull and the Kintyre peninsula to protect the supply base they provide for Campbeltown Creamery.
Next in the pecking order are farmers who were paid less than 20p per litre during 2016, who will receive £4250, while farmers who were under 25p get £2500 each, and those who got 25p or more receive £1500.
Additionally, farmers who meet the criteria of less than one million litres of milk production in 2015 will also receive a supplementary payment of £452.72p.
Announcing the payment run, Scottish rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing said: “The recent downward pressure on farm gate prices affected our dairy sector, which is why I took the decision to reopen the EU adjustment aid scheme window to ensure that as many farmers as possible were able to fully benefit from all available EU support.
“I can now confirm that I have done just that, and increased payments under this scheme will land in farmer’s bank accounts in the coming days.”
NFU Scotland milk committee chairman James Rankin commented: “It is a credit to NFUS, Scottish Dairy Hub and the Scottish Government that we were able to pull together a simple and transparent scheme that will see more than 700 of Scotland’s dairy farmers commit to efficiency measures round milk recording and production profiling.
“More importantly it will push some £2.4m of valuable funds into fragile bank accounts. In the depths of the dairy crisis, some Scottish dairy farmers were receiving the lowest milk prices seen for several generations. This scheme strives to support those worst affected by that crisis and we welcome Scottish Government’s decision to make those payments now, well ahead of the September deadline."
Milk prices in Scotland have lifted in the past 12 months but Mr Rankin stressed that the recovery process was far from complete: "There is huge frustration building at farm level as producers watch commodity prices hit levels unseen since 2013 while farmgate prices stagnate," he added.
“Following our discussions with other UK farming unions in Edinburgh last weekend we will examine the urgent need for milk buyers to treat milk producers fairly and respectfully by delivering a fair return for such strong market positions.”
For in-depth news and views on Scottish agriculture, see this Friday’s issue of The Scottish Farmer or visit www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk
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