Neil Parish MP joins Dairy Crest launch of milk price formula in Parliament

Neil Parish, MP for Tiverton and Honiton, met with Dairy Crest and Dairy Crest Direct (DCD) at an event on 23 April in the House of Commons to launch the new milk price formula to parliamentarians. They were joined by David Heath MP, Minister for Agriculture.

Mark Allen, Dairy Crest’s Chief Executive went along with David Herdman, the Chairman of DCD and Stephen Bradley, the consultant who was jointly commissioned by Dairy Crest and DCD to construct the formula, to explain how the ground-breaking formula works and answer any questions from MPs and peers.

Speaking after the event, Mark Allen said, “As the number one British dairy company, Dairy Crest is committed to supporting and working closely with our  1, 300 dairy farmers. That means paying a fair, market-related price for milk which recognises the tough conditions our farmers continue to face. This week, I was delighted to announce an increase of 1.5ppl to our farmers on a standard liquid milk contract – a record high.”

Neil Parish, who is a member of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee and took part in its inquiry into milk prices in July 2012, said at the meeting, “Dairy farmers have been struggling to get a fair price for their milk for years and this year’s severe weather is putting even greater financial pressure on dairy producers.

"It is for these reasons that I welcome Dairy Crest’s move to give their farmers a standard contract based on a transparent pricing formula. I am also pleased that dairy processors like Dairy Crest and First Milk are signing up to the voluntary code of practice.

"It is important that consumers can be assured that when they buy milk from the supermarket it is British farmers who are getting a fair price for their product.”