17 February 2010

2 minute read

Europe

The document identifies the following as five priorities:

• Increase research and development in agriculture to raise productivity and protect UK food security.
  
  
• Stress the importance of dairy in a balanced diet to keep the nation healthy.
  
  
• Ensure competition policy allows UK dairy companies are able to compete at a global scale.
  
  
• Keep supporting the Milk Roadmap to give farmers and processors confidence to invest in green measures.
  
  
• Urgently tackle bovine TB to boost milk output and farmers confidence.

The Dairy Manifesto, which is the product of widespread consultation among dairy farmers and processors, aims to provide officials and parliamentarians with a blueprint for tackling the major challenges in the dairy sector.

Among its key measures are urgently tackling bovine TB, increasing research and development in agriculture, stressing the importance of dairy in a balanced diet and rebalancing competition policy.

Publishing the document ahead of National Dairy Week (22-28 February), Dairy UK Director General Jim Begg said: “The Manifesto is all about giving the new government the information it needs to make the right decisions for the dairy industry in its first year of power.

“As an industry employing 80,000 people and turning over £8bn per year, dairy is a vital part of the food and wider economy. It is clearly in the government’s interest to ensure that the dairy sector is able to thrive.

“These measures fall under four headings - environmental, nutritional, farming and supply chain – and emerge from detailed consultation with dairy farmers, milk buyers, processors and milkmen. If the new government followed these proposals, it would give the UK dairy sector much needed confidence to invest in the future and protect our food security.”

TheCattleSite News Desk