Dairy industry may vanish in decade, warns Shropshire farming leader
The chairman of Shropshire's branch of the National Farmers' Union has warned that the dairy industry could vanish within 10 years unless the Government takes action now.
Richard Yates said ministers needed to adopt a "strategic food plan" to set out the future of the country's farming industry.
Speaking ahead of the annual National Farmers' Union (NFU) conference in Birmingham this week, Mr Yates warned that Britain had become too reliant on imports.
In 1991 the country produced 75 per cent of its food needs, but this had now dropped to around 60 per cent, said Mr Yates, who farms near Bridgnorth.
And he warned that the dairy crisis – which sees farmers selling milk for less than the cost of production – had created an "unsustainable situation", in part caused by supermarket price wars.
"We need to reassess our food strategy," he added. "The Government must look after our local farmers while we still have them.
"We have fewer than 10,000 dairy farmers now. At the current rate we may not have a dairy industry in 10 years."
The NFU conference, which begins tomorrow, will hear from senior politicians from the Conservative Party, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and Ukip, as well as EU agriculture commissioner Phil Hogan and business leaders.
Liz Truss, who succeeded North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, will also attend, and Mr Yates said it was important there was "robust discussion" about the problems facing farming.
Mr Yates fully endorsed comments made by NFU president Meurig Raymond, who said farming had to become a priority for government in the face of a growing population, market volatility and climate change.
Mr Raymond urged prospective MPs to set out how they would champion the high-quality British food farmers produced and the public wanted to see. And with the prospect of a European Union referendum looming after the general election, Mr Raymond said parties needed to explain how they would make sure British farmers were not disadvantaged by a possible "Brexit".
Mr Raymond, who farms in Pembrokeshire, Wales, said he wanted to highlight the importance of food and farming to the British economy.
