The government has released further details on farmers’ one-off support payments, which dairy farmers will receive as part of the EU response to the ongoing dairy crisis.

Under the EU's aid pay-out, England has been allocated £15.5 million, Northern Ireland £5.1 million, Wales £3.2 million and Scotland £2.3 million. However, critics have said the funds, released by the Commission after emergency talks and protests by thousands of farmers in Brussels last month, are inadequate.
 
Dairy farmers’ payments will be linked to production. Announcing the release of funding, Defra ministers said the pay-outs will help farmers with their cash-flow problems caused by volatile prices.

The UK’s overall direct support package (£26.2 million) is the third largest of all the member states. Ministers in the devolved governments have taken the same approach as their UK counterparts, which they said would make it easier for the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) to make payments quickly. Aid funds are expected to reach farmers’ bank accounts in December.

Commenting, on the release, Farming Minister George Eustice said, “We recognise that many dairy farmers in the UK are suffering financially at the moment and the support will offer some relief.

“Dairy farmers are a vital part of our £100billion food and farming industry and I’m pleased to confirm that ministers across the Union have agreed to distribute the aid in the simplest way – linked to milk production - to ensure the RPA can get this money into farmers’ bank accounts promptly.”

In England and Wales, the one-off payment for an average-sized dairy farm works out at around £1,800 per farmer.

In Northern Ireland farmers will be allocated, on average, just short of £2,000 in recognition of farmers having received amongst the lowest price in Europe. In Scotland, because of the larger average size of dairy units, average payments will be just over £2,500.

Meanwhile, Defra said, work continues on a host of measures to improve the long-term stability of the dairy industry. George Eustice is attending the world’s largest food and drink fair, Anuga, in Cologne, this week to promote British food and farming exports – worth over a billion pounds over the past two years. The Environment Secretary will also lead a trade delegation to China next month – including eight British dairy businesses - to promote quality British products to this growing market. The visit is part of Defra’s commitment to expand export market opportunities for UK farmers.

Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss said the government is working with the EU Commission to develop a futures market that will help farmers manage volatility in the long term, and “Look at ways of bringing greater fairness and transparency to the supply chain, using the success of our Groceries Code Adjudicator as a model that could benefit the whole of Europe.”