Dairy farmers are being urged to complete a snap shop survey of the labour issues on their farms as the Government calls for evidence on the subject. 

The Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) is working hard to ascertain the extent of recruitment problems, possible reasons and regional variations to feed into the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) review of the Shortage Occupation List (SOL), which closes next month (26 May).   

If enough evidence can be mounted to demonstrate the degree of the labour issues, then occupations such as herdsperson could be added to the list. This would give some dispensations within the immigration rules, designed to make it easier for employers to access migrant labour to fill vacancies in those areas of identified shortage.   

Previous research conducted by the RABDF has outlined the importance of foreign labour in fulfilling skilled positions on UK dairy farms.  

Commenting on the issue, RABDF Chairman Di Wastenage said: "The dairy industry is amid a serious labour crisis and we need access to highly skilled labour all year round to ensure our sector is sustainable.  

"The pandemic and Brexit have accelerated the problem, leading to more dairy farmers exiting the industry and it is a real cause for concern. Completing the survey below will allow us to ascertain the extent of the issues and provide accurate data into to the review. 

"The survey will only take 5 minutes to complete, so we just ask for your time in helping show the current state of play on the ground," she said.  

Complete the Survey  

The survey can be completed at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/7KGDJH6 and closes on Monday 15^th May.