A farmer in Powys today admitted he feared for his livelihood because of a drastic reduction in milk prices. Maurice Jones said he, like many other dairy farmers, was struggling to survive.

Mr Jones, from Montgomery, said: “Milk prices at the moment are absolutely unsustainable. We are getting paid 26p per litre but the cost of producing it is 30p per litre – so we are making a loss.”

His comments came as Gordon Brown said the Government would press on with its policy of increasing borrowing in a bid to tackle the economic downturn, despite experts criticising the plan as “misguided” and preferring tax cuts instead.

The move came as London’s leading share index, the FTSE 100, plunged to a new five-year low after heavy falls across Asia. It dropped by more than 200 points at one stage – a fall of five per cent – taking the Footsie back to levels not seen since March 2003. 

Mr Jones called on the Government to take action to save the dairy industry.

“The Government needs to start controlling the prices at the supermarket otherwise us farmers are going to be pushed out of business, because we just can’t compete,” he said.

“I’m hoping we can stick it out and survive, but it depends on how long these prices continue because you can only keeping running at a loss for so long,

“I just hope the Government takes action and comes up with a solution.”

Mansel Raymond, NFU Cymru milk board chairman, said dairy farmers across the country were struggling.

A decade ago there were 4,270 dairy farmers in Wales, but last month the amount of milk producers was almost half that at 2,143.  

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